How to...about wine

Enjoying a decent bottle of wine isn't just a pleasant way to unwind, its also a fine way to add flavour to your meal. 

1. If it is good enough to drink, then its good enough to cook with. Use a good wine. Inferior wine will impart an inferior flavour.
2. Once heated to boiling point, the alcohol evaporates and all that remains is the wines intrinsic flavour. This means eating food that contains alcohol wont affect your sobriety. When making a consommé. Add a little sherry before warming the soup to and infuse the soup with the sherry flavour.
3. Add a sweet, rich, cream sherry to the custard in trifle.
4. Deglaze a pan with red wine, brandy or sherry.
5. Experiment with aperitifs in cooking. Fennel risotto with a dash of pastis.
6. Slug of oil on top will preserve flavour. As you pour it into a dish, the oil slick will slide backwards releasing the wine. It is OK if a little escapes allowing the oil into the dish as you will probably adding oil anyway.
7. Don't use the dregs of a bottle opened a week ago as it will have oxidised and turned to acetic acid (vinegar).
8. Substitute the stock in casseroles with 50% liquid with red or white wine, boiled to reduce quantity and flavour.
9. In the 60's and 70's the flambé was a popular way of combining food and spirits. Today the combination of fruit and alcohol is in vogue.

There is only one important rule when cooking - A splash for the dish and a sip for the cook. All things in moderation.