Help me save this casserole, quick!

[BessieBoots]

Oh dear.
I always make beef casserole with red wine, and it's always lovely. However, today, on the day I have friends over for dinner, it tastes vinegary and horrid. Can you think of anything that may offset the yuckiness? I think the vinegaryness comes from the shitty red wine...

pleeeeease!

couple of teaspoons of sugar won't hurt it!

how's the rest of the seasoning - herbs, couple of anchovies, quickly fry some finely chopped bacon and bung in ....?

tin of baked beans - honest done it many times.

Can you reduce it further to get rid of the red wine and add water/stock if it needs more liquid. Something sweet should work also....tomatoes?

Erm Ok sugar?

Take the gravy and run a series of controlled tests? Sugar...potato...or does that just work for salt, maybe damson jam?, alkaline substances readily available in a kitchen???

You could ditch the gravy entirely and do a jam/soy sauce mix...which is not as bad as it sounds.

Or nip out and buy some really awful red wine and destroy your guests taste buds before they get to dinner??

Or make a point of how fresh and zingie this new recipe is?

tomatoes won't do it by themselves as they're quite acidic, they won't cut out all the vinegariness. Personally I really wouldn't do anything weird and wonderful, sugar will fix it honestly, I've done this when I've used rubbish wine in casseroles and it's worked!

If the meat and stuff tastes ok then strain the casserole and throw away the vinegary juice. Make a new liquid with ok red wine and some beef stock,( maybe with garlic and bacon as someone else said) reduce it well and then stick the meat back in and let it stew for some more.

You lot are fab, will try some sugar and maybe a teaspoon of sweey apple chutney now... :)

dollop of cream cheese - fixes EVERYTHING!!!

And ketchup may help too:)

I love you, mumsnetters. :)

Added sugar and chutney. It was delish. Thank you ever so much for helping me, that was really kind.