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Can I freeze wine for cooking?

17 years ago

I know this sounds super extra frugal, but...

I bought some Burgundy to make a stew, but haven't gotten the other ingredients. The bottle got opened when I had company and they left enough for my recipe. Is it silly to freeze it? We don't really want to drink it and I don't want to toss it and buy another too-big bottle later.

Is there a reason I've never heard of freezing leftover wine?

Thanks!

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Comments (11)

Lisa_in_Germany
17 years ago
Yes, you can. The best way is to freeze it in ice cube trays and then put the cubes in a Ziploc bag. Then you have it preportioned to add a cube or two to sauces or gravies.
Lisa
coconut_nj
17 years ago
Yes, you sure can. Since you plan to use it in a particular dish just freeze it in whatever. You might want to do as Lisa said and freeze at least a few cubes of it to put in other dishes if you don't need it all for your intended dish.

I don't know why you don't hear of it more often. Maybe people just drink it before they get to freeze it. Smiles. Lots of times I think people think they'll use it and it will last, and sure, it lasts a while, but freezing is a great option.
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foodonastump
17 years ago
I've never done it, but I recall reading in the "Windows on the World Complete Wine Course" that freezing wine, even to drink, is a decent way to store it although it will lose a bit of its character.
bunnyman
17 years ago
The alcohol portion won't freeze. Which makes it a still. Which is a federal crime.

I won't snitch on ya.

: )
lyra
Fori
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks. I'm pretty sure it'll be too cold to further ferment... :)

Now, if I had a spare bathtub, I might be getting into dangerous legal territory...
sheesh
17 years ago
Wine doesn't freeze hard like ice cubes do, but it freezes well in cube trays. I've floated "wine cubes" in sangria - works great.
azzalea
17 years ago
Don't even bother with messing with ice cube trays. Just pour the wine into a plastic container with a wide enough mouth to get a spoon or ice cream scoop in. Because of the alcohol content, wine doesn't freeze solid--it will only get slushy. Very easy to scoop out a little or a lot for your recipes. I've frozen wine on several occasions, and it works just fine.
Ideefixe
17 years ago
Why? Drink up the remains of the bottle and buy another when you're ready to cook again. Even if you can freeze it, why do this? Any half-way decent wine is going to deteriorate if frozen.
Fori
Original Author
17 years ago
We tried drinking it. We just don't like it (straight).

Meanwhile, I've gotten some fun ideas to make summer picnicking more bearable. :)
annie1992
17 years ago
fori, I never even thought of freezing it. I just don't like wine for drinking, with the exception of a couple of extremely sweet whites. (shrug) Elery likes some to cook with AND he likes to drink it but usually doesn't drink an entire bottle, and he likes dry reds so there's no sharing a bottle of wine, neither of us can bear to drink what the other likes. (grin)

Freezing it for recipes is a good idea, plus with an ice cream scoop, maybe he'd like a wine slushie.

How about that 3/4 bottle of sparkling moscato I have on the table? I drank one glass and had enough. I'll bet that would lose it's sparkle, but it might still be OK....

Annie
Lars
17 years ago
I store wine in the fridge, and it doesn't go bad before I use it, which might take several weeks. I don't use red wine, however, and so that might be a different story. I store Sauvignon Blanc in a small tall jar with sprigs of fresh thyme (to prevent someone from drinking it) in the door of the fridge. If you are not storing it for very long, the fridge should be cold enough, I think.

Lars

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