For some cooks, deciding what wine to use for cooking is as puzzling as deciding what wine to serve with a meal. How good does it have to be? What type is best? How much do you have to spend?

Here’s our advice: If a recipe simply calls for red or white, a dry variety usually is best. You can open a fresh bottle or use one that’s been opened, as long as it has no vinegar odor and still tastes good. Avoid heavily tannic wines, such as full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon, and wines that have pronounced oak tones, like many Chardonnays. Don’t use cooking wine; it has added salt and preservatives that affect its taste.

Moderately priced wines, around $6 to $8 per bottle, are fine for casual cooking. For a more elegant dish, you might purchase a better wine. Use a good-quality table wine, Merlot, Syrah (also called Shiraz) or hearty blended wines (Côtes du Rhône) in stews and other long-cooking dishes. Try lighter, fruity Pinot Noir for quick-cooking pan sauces. Young, dry whites, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio and nonvintage sparkling wines, have crisp acidity that brightens a dish’s flavors. When a sweet wine is called for, use Marsala, sweet sherry or Muscat. If you don’t have white wine, you can substitute dry vermouth, but use slightly less of it because it has a higher alcohol content.

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