How to Use Leftover Red Wine
While red wine is an extremely popular drink that pairs beautifully with red meat like beef steak dishes, pasta and cheese, it’s not uncommon to have a little leftover red wine at the end of a dinner party.
If you don’t want to pour another glass but want your leftover wine to be used wisely, then there’s a whole host of ways to put your red wine to use. In this article, we discuss nine ways you can use leftover wine, helping you get the best bang for your buck!
The Best Ways to Use Leftover Red Wine
1. Make Wine Ice Cubes
If you want to go back and enjoy your leftover red wine at some point, we don’t recommend doing this. However, if you’re not looking to enjoy a glass in the future, this solution is for you.
When finished, consider placing your leftover red wine in an ice cube tray and transferring these to a plastic bag, leaving it in your freezer drawer. You can then use the cubes in future, adding them to sauces, soups or slow-cooked stews to deepen the flavour.
2. Make Homemade Red Wine Vinegar
Making a red wine vinegar is one of the most popular ways to use leftover wine. Red wine vinaigrette makes for some of the best salad dressings or can be used as a marinade for roasted vegetables to add moisture and a subtle tang.
Simply pour leftover wine into a clear bottle and mix with olive oil, Dijon mustard, honey, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix this and let it combine in the refrigerator for a few days. Then, drizzle this over your next salad and enjoy the deep flavours of a full-bodied red wine combined with
3. Create a Marinade
Have you got a dinner party coming up? Use a leftover bold red wine to elevate a marinade. We recommend using a deeper leftover red wine like Malbec or Cabernet Sauvignon to make a flavourful marinade for red meat dishes.
Simply combine basic seasonings like Italian herbs, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to create the marinade. Then, let the meat sit in the refrigerator for a few hours or, even better, overnight. The acids in the wine will tenderize the meat, creating a complex concoction of flavours.
4. Use in Tomato Sauces
If you’re making pasta sauces with tomatoes, deepen your dish’s flavour with some leftover red wine. It’s super simple to make a tomato sauce recipe with red wines. Simply saute onions and diced garlic with some extra-virgin olive oil in one pot until softened.
Then, add a can of chopped tomato, tomato puree and half a cup to a full cup of red wine. Leave this to simmer in a large pot for around 30 minutes until the alcohol has cooked off and has thickened. Season this to taste with more herbs like oregano, basil, thyme, salt and pepper.
5. Make Sangria
If you opened an entire bottle of red wine at your gathering, but didn’t drink the contents, then making homemade Sangria is a great option. Sangria is a Spanish drink made using red wine, brandy and fresh fruit.
All you need to make this classic, exotic drink is a pitcher, orange juice, sliced apples, oranges and strawberries. Combine all of your ingredients in your pitcher and let this sit in your refrigerator to mix together. The result will have you picturing yourself on a beach sipping the finest combination of flavours.
6. Make a Poached Pear Dessert
Poached pears are one of the most luxurious yet easy-to-make desserts you’ll find. They’re soft, elegant and delicious. To poach pears, we recommend using a wine like Shiraz or Merlot. All you have to do is combine your leftover red wine in a pan with sugar, cinnamon, and orange peel.
Core and peel your pears and submerge them in the saucepan. Let this simmer for around 30 minutes until the pears are infused with the red wine sauce and tender. Serve your hot pears with cream or ice cream of your choice.
7. Create a Red Wine Reduction for Steak
If you want to elevate the taste of any meat-based dish, then we recommend making a red wine reduction. This is a reduced sauce made simply by boiling and reducing your leftover red wine. Pour your wine into a cooking pot and bring this to a boil. Lower the temperature and let this simmer until the wine has reduced by half.
Then, add chicken broth or steak stock, herbs and spices to the pan and let this simmer for around 20 minutes until you have a thick sauce. Strain to remove any bits, and pour some of the sauce over grilled meats like a succulent sirloin steak.
8. Make a Fruit Fly Trap
This might be one of the strangest uses for leftover red wine, but it is one of the most effective methods of removing fruit flies from your home. We recommend making a fruit fly trap if you only have a little red wine left.
While this could also work with white wine like a crisp sauvignon blanc, red wine tends to have more sugar than a super dry white wine, attracting fruit flies. The basic premise works by encouraging the flies to fly into the bottle, trapping them in the liquid below.
To make this trap, cut a small piece of paper and fold it into a cone shape, securing it with tape. Then, insert the thinnest end into the bottleneck, ensuring the hole is wide enough for flies to climb into. Secure gaps between the bottle top and paper with tape, ensuring no flies can get through.
Then, place your bottle anywhere around your home where you have a lot of fruit flies. The cone ensures flies can easily climb in but prevents them from escaping once they’re in the bottle and looking for the sugary contents.
9. Add Depth to Chocolate Cakes
If you’re thinking of making a rich, indulgent chocolate cake in the future, add a splash of red wine to the mixture. Red wine brings out the flavour of the chocolate, making it richer. This will also keep the cake moist, creating a stunning cake that’s perfect for any birthday or celebration. Simply whisk the red wine with eggs, oil and vanilla extra, combining this with flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda and salt to make the batter. Place in an oven-proof dish, bake and enjoy.
Find Quality Red Wine at Wine Online
At Wine Online, you’ll find an extensive collection of red wines that are the perfect way to decompress after a long day, elevate a recipe or experiment to find your signature wine. We supply everything from collection-worthy wines, like a bottle of 2005 Cheval Blanc, to red wines under $25, like a 2021 Bellaretta Cabernet Sauvignon. Whatever your tastes and budget, we have a stunning red wine you won’t want to leave with any leftovers. Shop online today to elevate your wine collection.