Running out of wine mid-recipe isn’t a reason to abandon dinner, and neither is choosing not to cook with alcohol in the first place. Wine shows up in recipes for a few specific jobs, acidity, depth, a bit of sweetness, and the flavor compounds alcohol helps carry, and once you know which of those a recipe actually needs, picking a substitute stops being guesswork.
What can I use instead of wine in cooking?
The short answer: It depends on what the wine is doing in the dish. For red wine, the closest substitutes are red wine vinegar diluted with water or stock, pomegranate juice, or beef or vegetable broth with a splash of balsamic vinegar. For white wine, dry white vermouth is nearly a direct swap, or use white wine vinegar diluted with water, white grape juice cut with lemon juice, or plain broth. For sherry, Marsala, or port, non-alcoholic versions exist, or you can approximate them with grape juice plus a little vinegar and, for the sweeter styles, a touch of brown sugar. One thing worth knowing regardless of why you’re substituting: the popular idea that “the alcohol all cooks off” isn’t accurate. USDA data shows a dish simmered for 15 minutes still retains about 40 percent of its added alcohol, and even 2.5 hours of cooking leaves around 5 percent behind, which matters if you’re avoiding alcohol for health, pregnancy, recovery, or religious reasons rather than just being out of wine.
If you’re wondering about your current bottle rather than replacing it, see the guides to whether cooking wine goes bad and whether cooking wine needs to be refrigerated.
Wine Substitutes: At a Glance
Instead of red wine
Red wine vinegar + water/stock (diluted), pomegranate or cranberry juice, tomato juice
Instead of white wine
Dry white vermouth (nearly 1:1), white wine vinegar + water (diluted), white grape juice + lemon
Instead of sherry or Marsala
Non-alcoholic versions, or grape juice + vinegar + a little brown sugar
Instead of port (sweet, for dessert)
Grape or cherry juice reduced with a splash of balsamic vinegar
For deglazing a pan
Any broth, or water with a splash of vinegar or lemon juice
For a marinade (tenderizing)
Vinegar-based marinade, citrus juice, or buttermilk
Common mistake
Using vinegar at full strength; always dilute it, vinegar is far more acidic than wine
Alcohol-avoidance note
Cooking does not remove all alcohol, even after hours of simmering
Key Takeaways
Wine contributes acidity, a bit of sweetness, and aromatic depth to a dish; identifying which of those a recipe is really after makes picking a substitute much easier.
Vinegar-based substitutes need to be diluted, since vinegar is considerably more acidic than wine and will overpower a dish if used at full strength in place of it.
Dry white vermouth is one of the closest matches to white wine in both flavor and function, and it keeps far longer once opened than an actual bottle of wine.
According to USDA data, alcohol does not fully cook off, even
