Cooking wine? Minimum unit pricing

[SplunkPostGres]

What do people use to cook with now there’s minimum unit pricing? Haven’t cooked risotto for years but Sainsbury’s used to do a Basics white wine which was perfect for cooking with. Now it seems to be at least £5 for a basic bottle of white wine.

I don’t drink anymore so I can’t even slosh in a bit of the bottle I’ve got open whilst cooking.

Does everyone else really pay £5 for a bottle of cooking wine?

I just use normal wine (or vermouth) for risotto - it’s only a splash. If you don’t stink maybe just get a half bottle?

Omg sorry drink not stink

Ha! I like that typo. I may indeed stink and not know it anymore due to lockdown 😀

If you wouldn't drink it, then don't cook with it.

Sainsbury's sell really small bottles - 250ml if that's all you want

How much do you need? Would a mini bottle be enough? They are about £2.

I always spend at least £5 on wine for cooking and I'm not much of a drinker.

You can freeze wine in ice cube trays if you really need to.

I haven't bought any recently though, because it would mean having to poke my head out of my house, and I'm quite enjoying the contactless deliveries where I just shout my appreciation through the door.

It's about 3.50 for a bottle in Aldi/ Lidl and to be honest it's not bad.
The Aldi Grapevine wine is very drinkable for the price and perfect for chucking in cooking if you're not a drinker!

Buy a single glass size. Surely you don't use enough wine in cooking to get through a whole bottle?

You can’t get a full bottle of wine for £3.50 in Wales or Scotland where there is minimum alcohol pricing, it’s 50p a unit. Unless it’s lower alcohol but I don’t think that’s a great idea for cooking.

I get a £5 bottle for a casserole but that’s a bit of a batch cook that will do two meals. You can also freeze wine if you don’t use it all.

I just get whatever big bottle is cheapest on the day and pour the excess into small Tupperware and freeze it. We always have frozen wine in the freezer for cooking with.

Vermouth, a big bottle, can just live in the cupboard, rather than a new bottle of wine for risotto.

You really shouldn’t be cooking with anything you wouldn’t drink.

I'd second Carlotta on using vermouth. I keep that in for cooking it lasts forever. Or sherry for that matter.
Another way would be to buy one bottle and freeze in ice cube trays then decant they cubes into a freezer bag for easy to handle little doses of wine.

I hadn’t thought of freezing it. That’s actually a really good idea. Saves me buying a bottle just to make a risotto. I’d thought about the tiny bottles but my inner Scrooge keeps reminding how poor value that is. That’s the thing with not drinking. Previously I’d have happily paid around £15 for a day-to-day bottle but now I’m reminded that’s the actually approx 50% of a pair of new school shoes, or some nice skin cream from Beauty Pie etc

I was going to say freeze it.

But don’t freeze it in ice cube trays and expect certain people of the house NOT to pop it into their orange juice and call you at work to ask why the orange juice tastes weird.