What wine(s) would you substitute for sweet red vermouth?
I want to make a chukar cherry sauce recipe which calls for 1/2 cup of sweet red vermouth, which gets cooked and reduced with the cherries and other ingredients. I don't have vermouth on hand, and I'm reluctant to buy a bottle I may never use again given the number of other wines I have around.
So, my question is: what wine or combination of wines and other ingredients would be the best substitute for the flavor of sweet red vermouth in cooking, from the list below?
- Marsala wine
- Sherry
- White table wine (many varieties)
- Red table wine (many varieties)
- Sake
- Sweet white dessert wine
- Red and white wine vinegar
- Brandy
- Other pantry staples (sugar, lemons, etc.)
(I'm OK with the color being different, I really just care about the flavor)
Best Answer
I'd say sherry or marsala will have the closest flavor profile in terms of sweetness, with obviously some nuance of the herbal qualities of vermouth lost. But you could add some spices and herbs to make up for that (cloves, cinnamon, dried ginger, star anise, maybe bitter herbs like mugwort, which is easy to find where I am, or something like thyme or sage). See this article for a rough rundown of what might be in a typical vermouth.
That being said, fruit compotes are amenable to quite a lot of variations in alcohol. I sometimes used a white wine when making rote Grütze, a German style berry sauce/compote, but it's common to add a splash of something like cassis liqueur and fruit juice, but the one that went over the best I made with tart verjus. Brandy could work in moderation. If I went that direction, I'd use a fruit juice in roughly 90% the volume of vermouth intended and 10% in brandy.
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Quick Answer about "What wine(s) would you substitute for sweet red vermouth?"
Dry red wine (& simple syrup) The best sweet vermouth substitute? Dry red wine, with a touch of simple syrup. If you've got a bottle around, a dry red captures those bitter notes that are classic in a sweet vermouth. Add simple syrup to taste, then use it as a 1:1 replacement.Can you substitute wine for sweet vermouth?
Red wine makes an excellent substitute for sweet Vermouth in dessert recipes and the occasional savory recipe. If you're making a sauce for meat or a dessert, then red wine is easy to find and works well.What wine is closest to a vermouth?
In the case of vermouth, whether dry or sweet, it's a fortified wine, so you need to replace it with another fortified wine. If you're out of dry vermouth and craving a Martini, try dry sherry, or Lillet Blanc. Cocchi Americano also works.What can substitute for red vermouth in cooking?
Vinegar. Use vinegar to mimic the acidic quality of dry vermouth. White-wine vinegar most closely resembles the taste of dry vermouth. However, depending on the dish you plan to make, other vinegars, like balsamic and red-wine vinegar, may also work.Can I substitute white wine for vermouth in a recipe?
Don't have it? You can almost always substitute dry Vermouth for white wine (a handy substitution since an opened bottle of Vermouth lasts longer than an opened bottle of white wine). Lemon juice or even white wine vinegar can substitute for wine when just a splash is called for, but use a tiny bit less.How to substitute wines for cooking
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Answer 2
I would be bold and use the Marsala without a care. Taste and if you think it needs "something" add a few drops of Angostura Bitters. It will end up with a flavor, just possibly not "the" flavor.
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