It is not commen, but sometimes it happens that we have some extra wine left after dinner, and surprisingly will not be consuming within the next several days. This tends to occurs mainly after our book club, where each guest brings a bottle of wine and all get opened, which result in a few unfinished bottles by the end of the evening. So if you’re like us and would rather put the leftover wine to good use, here are some ideas.
Ice Cubes
This is a great way to store your wine for future use. The first step is to measure how much wine fits into each cube (pour the wine into one cube and then pour the contents into a measuring cup), so that you know how many cubes you need when you’re ready to use them. Once the cubes are frozen, you can put them in a Ziploc bag and store in your freezer until a recipe calls for wine. You can use them for a base of a sauce, toss them into a soup, add them to sangria — the possibilities are endless!
Soups & Stews
If you’re looking to bump the flavor of your soup or stew up a notch, consider using a little leftover wine. Need some inspiration? Try one of these delicious dishes:
- Mushroom Soup with Red Wine and Brie
- French Onion Soup
- West Village Beef Stew
- Coq Au Vin
Vinegar
Did you know you can make your own vinegar at home? It’s not only great for the condiment cupboard, it also makes a great gift for a friend (who doesn’t love homemade gifts?)! All you need is a glass container, 2 cups of red or white wine, some water and a liquid vinegar starter. Head on over to the Williams-Sonoma blog for instructions.
Wine Cocktails, Mulled Wine & Sangria
Still in the drinking mode, but want to shake things up? Use the leftover wine in a wine cocktail. Visitour recent post about wine cocktails, which includes recipes for mulled wine and sangria.
Red Wine Lollipops
We’ve been dying to share these guys with you for a while now. It’s not the simplest of recipes (although there aren’t that many ingredients and you only need about 1 1/2 cups of wine), but it’s such a treat that we couldn’t resist sharing. If you make these, you’ll definitely impress your foodie friends. Find the recipe here.
Steamed Mussels
If you have 2 cups of dry white wine leftover and have a craving for some mussels, you’ve got the perfect match. By creating a broth of white wine, shallots, garlic and salt, you have a flavorful base in which to steam your mussels. Find the recipe at Martha Stewart.
Wine Syrup
We’re huge fans of the Kitchen team, so we were delighted to find their recipe for wine syrup (you need 3 cups of wine for each cup of sugar). The syrup can be used on ice cream, salad dressings, as a marinade, on fresh fruit and anything else you dream up. Check out the recipe and more ideas for how to use wine syrup here.
By Madeline Puckette, WineFolly