What Gardengal said. And if you can find a decent wine store (as opposed to a grocery store, for example), just ask the clerks and give them your budget. They should have a good idea of what they carry, and won't steer you wrong.

I don't drink wine, but like it as a flavoring. I used to go the liquor store and have them help me pick out wines for cooking.

The recipe looks delicious, but that 9 hours of cook time is a killer. Not sure I would have that much patience. It says to cook in a stockpot, but that looks more like a crockpot recipe to me. I bought my 16 year old a crockpot for Christmas because she loves to cook and take food to her friends. I may have to borrow it.

Just remember, if it is not good enough for drinking, it is not good enough for cooking.

"A real French burgundy is an expensive wine. Since the recipe calls for a quart, that could be a budget breaker. "

A standard wine bottle is 750ml, 80% of a quart. I'd call that enough. If you want to add that missing 20 percent from a second bottle, go ahead. Just be sure to drink what remains in the second bottle and empty it completely before the mushrooms stop cooking.

I took a look at the recipe and in my view, any drinkable red of any not too light varietal should work fine.

Thank you all for your comments and thoughts.

I make a similar recipe called drunken mushrooms. They are delicious either served over beef or served as an appetizer. You will want to buy medium-sized mushrooms. They will shrink in the cooking. My recipe does not call for the water and you only cook them for about 40 min. They are delicious even as a snack as my DH will attest to.

Drunken Mushrooms

3 lb. med.-size mushrooms, 1 stick butter, 1 1/2 T. flour, 1/2 c. finely chopped onions, 4 large cloves garlic crushed or finely chopped, 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, 2 c. canned vegetable broth, 1/4 tsp. dill weed, 2 C. dry red wine, salt and pepper.

Wipe mushrooms with damp towel if dirty. Melt butter in large Dutch oven. Add flour and cook over medium heat 1 minute. Add mushrooms, onions, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, broth, dill weed and wine. Cook over medium-high heat 40 minutes, stirring occasionally until sauce is reduced and thickened. (Stir more frequently during last 10 minutes.) Season to taste. Cool and refrigerate overnight. Reheat before serving. I use any red wine I have including Trader Joe's Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon. Always comes out delicious! I love the fact that you must make them a day ahead.

Thank you for your recipe for Drunken Mushrooms, georgysmom2. It does sound delicious.

I'm a white wine drinker but usually use a Merlot or Shiraz when I need a red wine for cooking. DH likes both so we always have some on hand. You'll be fine with choosing a red that's $10 or less for PW's recipe.

Something I'll never understand is why anyone would buy those horrible cooking wines you see at the market. I literally cringe when I see someone reach for one.

For red wine, I use Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Côtes du Rhône, or Châteauneuf-du-Pape. We used to buy Chianti, but discovered that we like Sangiovese better, and it has a similar flavor. Personally, I do not like Burgundy, as I find the flavor too strong, sort of like the same reason I prefer Sangiovese to Chianti. I agree that you can get a decent red wine for under $12, which is where we set our limit. We have the same limit for white wine but are more likely to go over the limit for that.

My go-to for red wine is Hob Nob (Pinot Noir.) Nice and smooth and a good price point for everyday use - around $11.

Again, thank you all so much. I guess I was stuck on a true Burgundy because that is all I've had. We lived in Europe for several years and that is where I learned about wine and learned to drink it and truly like it very much. Nearly always purchased French wine, sometimes a German wine. I had no idea that French wines are expensive here in the USA. Glad you advised me of the expense. I do not need an expensive wine to pay for.

I prefer Cabernet Sauvignon to Burgundy (not sure what the difference is), and I do like the Cabernets from Paso Robles, although I seldom buy them. The cheapest is $26, which I think is too expensive for cooking wine.

walnut creek, wine taste is affected by many factors - terroir (the specific factors of its location - weather including temp, sun,rain, chemical composition of the soil, orientation of the planting location - processing and blending, quality of the grapes and growing season, but nothing more so than the type of grape. Grapes are like types of apples, all are grapes (or apples) but flavor characteristics differ and wine making techniques differ. Even the same varietals from the same vineyards and winemakers from one year to the next will not be the same. It's an agricultural product with variability.

As said above, reds from Burgundy are made from pinor noir grapes. Whites are mostly chardonnay. Both of these varietals are grown in California and other wine regions. Does a fine California pinot taste like a fine French pinot? No, for a variety of reasons. Sometimes better, sometimes not as good.

Red French Bordeaux wines are blends of Cabernet Sauvignon and others, sometimes Merlot, and whites are also blends of Sauvignon Blanc and others. Same story, all grown in the US and elsewhere.

German whites are usually Rieslings but there are other varietals too, same story, also grown in the US and elsewhere.

There are local varieties in Italy, Spain,, Portugal, South America, that are not grown in the US and many are excellent for what they are.

Try different kinds, you'll discover new flavors and styles you like.

The difference is a different type of grape. And like champagne, the term 'burgundy' refers to wine produced from a specific growing region, not the type of wine itself. Red burgundy is just Pinot Noir.....but a Pinot Noir grown and produced in the Burgundy region of France. If you have a wine made from a Pinot Noir grape grown in California, it's not a burgundy........just a Pinot Noir ;-)

I believe in the old days when wine enjoyment wasn't as widespread as it is now, and in places today where that's still the case, "Burgundy" was a style as much as an origin place and referred generically to red wine. There's no reason why a generic recipe site would refer to a recipe as Pinot Noir mushrooms because that's probably not how the dish was known. The mere recommendation of "1 qt of Burgundy" suggests the writer has a limited wine knowledge.

Without even looking, I'm certain that most recipes for Boeuf Bourguignon (Burgundy Beef), the classic French red wine beef stew, DON'T specify using solely a French pinot noir. No reason to, lots of other choices.

I also think it would be fine to substitute, but with the long cooking time I'd avoid some of the heavier, jammy or oaky US/new world wines. The wines of Bourgogne are classified into Grand Cru, Premier Cru and Cru Village, from the most prestigious to the lowest. Nuits St. Georges is the prime area, so even a decent Cru Village from there should suit you.

What matters is that you like it. So go to a good wine merchant, tell him you want it for cooking and drinking, tell him about the recipe and he will advise you. You can taste 2 or 3 wines and choose one. And go home very happy, hic!

After reading this post, I went and got Mushrooms and wine. Cannot wait to make them! thank you

I pretty much agree with what Elmer said. You could be safe in buying a good red blend and enjoy the remaining bottle. Other choices as mentioned should be a decent Cab or maybe Merlot. It is very possible to keep the cost down these days, especially with a red blend from Costco or even the grocery store.

I am picky about my Pinot Noir but have had many good ones that are around $10-15. I think it is to light for your mushroom dish however.

"I think it is to light for your mushroom dish however."

I'm not sure I can agree with that :-) Pinot Noir is a full flavored red, not light at all, and the grape that constitutes what is known as burgundy wine or exactly what is specified by the recipe.

But I also agree - and pointed out in my first post - that any full bodied red wine would work equally well. Trader Joe's is one of my go-to sources for good quality and budget friendly wines. I seldom ever pay more than $15 for a bottle except when I splurge for a special occasion wine. Just stay away from the "2 buck Chuck"!!

Personally, I like the 2 buck chuck reds....don't think you can go cheap on whites. :-))) In this recipe, the 2 buck chuck works fine. I've used a decent red wine and Charles Shaw Cabernet. I haven't tasted them side by side, I only know it tastes good with the inexpensive wine and yes I know, you should always use a decent wine when cooking because when the alcohol wears off, all you have is the flavor of the wine. However, with the vegetable broth, dill weed etc. it works in this recipe.