Add wine to your pan before pouring it in your glass

Last week, I had one of those "Oops, I forgot to eat today," days. Instead of ordering expensive take-out, I defrosted some coq au vin, steamed some rice and enjoyed a delicious dinner.

Like all good stews, this classic French dish of chicken stewed in wine just gets better when reheated. I prepare and freeze a bucketful every few months to heat up for office parties, when entertaining at home or as a hearty treat after a hectic day.

Yet cooking with wine needn't be saved for special occasions. The other week, I fried some burgers. After plating the meat, I splashed the skillet with about half a cup of wine, cooked it down by half and drizzled it over the meat. The concentrated, complex flavors of this easy sauce transformed a standard dinner into a taste treat, with only a minute's preparation time. (The wine's alcohol and acid also helped scour the pan, reducing clean-up.)

Wine first appeared on recipe cards circa 2 B.C. As Roman legionnaires pushed the empire's boundaries, food poisoning became their most pernicious foe. Through trial and deadly error, they learned to retard foodstuff's deterioration by soaking it in wine. Quickly, vineyards sprang up as far north as modern Britain (many of these sites still bearing fruit).

In our relatively kinder and gentler times, recipes tout marinating with wine to tenderize tough cuts like pot roast, to add elegant flavor to finer dishes and to reduce carcinogens when grilling meats.

The first guideline of cooking with wine is to use the best quality that budget allows. Heat quickly removes water from wine, dramatically concentrating flavors. Any unpleasant aspects will be infused into your dish many times over. Avoid "cooking wine" which often contains salt and other additives. If possible, use the same wine you plan to serve during the meal and let guests think it's your skill in seasoning that has matched food and wine flavors.

Chardonnay complements buttery preparations both at table and in the kitchen. In contrast, use Sauvignon Blanc for olive oil recipes. To enhance peppery, meaty and earthy flavor, use a hearty red such as a French Rhone or U.S. Syrah or Rhone-style blend.

Secondly, add wine early in preparation. Wine overpowers food flavors unless acids have time to marry throughout the dish and alcohol has time to evaporate. As with other seasonings, add wine conservatively at first, tasting and adjusting often during cooking.

Just as every dish doesn't call for oregano, not every dish calls for wine. "No wine!" my mom cried when my importer-father tried a new recipe. He made salad dressing with wine (wine and mustard vinaigrette), stew with wine (boeuf a la Bourguignonne), fruit, vegetables and dessert with wine (poached apples, carrots and leeks, Italian ice topped with Spumante…) Despite Mom's objection, every dish was delish. Still, be cautious of repetition when adding wine to more than one dish during a meal.

Finally, be certain to check with non-imbibers before serving a dish cooked with wine. Heat never evaporates alcohol completely and health and religious guidelines may require zero-tolerance. Heat also evaporates sulfite, but courtesy demands checking with sulfite-sensitive guests.

One wine to always have on hand is dry Amontillado Sherry -- no "cooking sherry", please, but the real McCoy from Spain. Whether doused into canned soup, sautéed with mushrooms or injected into roasting chicken, Amontillado's flavors of herbs, roasted nuts and dark honey, elevate a dish to luxury status. Excellent brands including Pedro Romero and Barbadillo are available for under $15 per bottle and will last several months after opening, though mine seem to disappear in a few weeks. I guess I just like to cook!

Ross' choice

Pinot Noir

Apaltagua

2007

Curico Valley, Chile

• Suggested retail and availability: About $11 at wine shops

Welcome Spring with this eminently drinkable Pinot Noir, with silky texture and beguiling fresh berry flavor, delicately accented with oak. Serve room temperature with richer poultry and seafood (such as turkey or grilled salmon), lighter meats (ham) and Asian cuisine. Add a slight chill for a satisfying cocktail. Remember this great value for picnics, music fests and all your outdoor dining sure to come.