Stupid substitution question

Found what looked like a great recipe on epicurious for zinfandel glazed shallots, but it seems I opened a shiraz for the gravy base and prefer not to open another bottle just for shallots.

Can I substitute? Not using any fabulous wine or anything, but if there's some major differences between the wines (i'm mostly a red or white gal) then I won't bother.

Thank you!!!

If you're asking whether you can use shiraz instead of zin on your shallots, sure. I doubt whether the results will taste all that different, and even if they do, so what? They'll taste like shiraz instead of zin.

Go ahead and substitute. It'll taste different, but it'll still be good. You may produce something really woody if you have a wine aged in oak, but that'd be true if you had a zin, too.

I agree--if you are asking if you can substitute Shiraz for Zin, definitely. In the scheme of things, these wines are both big, full bodied wines and will work well in the same recipes. But even if the wines were further apart (such as, say, Zin and Pinot Noir), you'd be hard-pressed to notice that much of a difference.

By the time you reduce the wine, you may need to adjust seasoning slightly. Depending on the dryness of the wine, a pinch of sugar or a splash of lemon juice or vinegar (wine or balsamic) may be needed for balance. If you have nothing to compare to, do whatever makes it delicious.

Darren72 wrote:I agree--if you are asking if you can substitute Shiraz for Zin, definitely. In the scheme of things, these wines are both big, full bodied wines and will work well in the same recipes. But even if the wines were further apart (such as, say, Zin and Pinot Noir), you'd be hard-pressed to notice that much of a difference.

Good Point. And on top of that, it's worth noting that there are so many different Shirazes, with very different characteristics, such that unless you use to same Shiraz as the person writing the recipe, the dish could taste completely different.

Just to report, I did end up using the shiraz, it wasn't even a fabulous bottle but it was just opened! The shallots simmered in the wine til it reduced to a glaze, a bit of sugar was added along with a touch of apple cider.

Very popular dish, I thank you all for the support and encouragement as I tried to figure out what to do!