Merlot substitute
Cabernet sauvignon or a cabernet blend
Use the same amount and reduce slightly less as the merlot you are replacing
Almost any dry red substitutes for merlot one for one, which is why recipes that specify it usually just mean a soft dry red. Cabernet sauvignon or a cabernet blend is the most common swap and works well, but it is more tannic and drier, so a reduction made with it tastes tighter and grips the tongue; stop reducing a little sooner or whisk in extra butter at the end. Sangiovese or Chianti gives you a brighter, sour-cherry version that suits anything with tomato in it. Alcohol-free, use half pomegranate juice and half beef broth with a teaspoon of red wine vinegar per cup. Skip sweet reds and red cooking wine, which is salted.
Other merlot substitutes
Ranked, with the exact amount to use
Substitutes for Merlot with ratios
2Sangiovese, Chianti or Barbera
Different tasteWhat changes
- Best for
- ragu and tomato sauces, meatballs, braised pork, risotto with red wine
The right pick when the dish has tomato in it, because the acidity and cherry fruit line up naturally with tomato and the whole sauce reads as more savoury and more Italian. A ragu made with Chianti instead of merlot tastes brighter and leaner, with a dried-herb edge, and the colour is a shade lighter. Because they are more acidic, taste before you add any vinegar or lemon that the recipe calls for at the end. Barbera is the softest of the three and closest to merlot in tannin, so it is the least noticeable swap of all.
3Malbec or Shiraz
Different tasteWhat changes
- Best for
- beef and lamb, barbecue sauces, chilli and stews, dark glazes
Excellent with beef, lamb and anything smoky or chilli-spiced. Both are inkier than merlot, so the sauce comes out visibly darker, and both bring more assertive flavour: malbec is blueberry and cocoa, shiraz is black pepper, smoke and violet. They have more tannin than merlot but less than a classic cabernet, so they reduce well without turning harsh. In a delicate dish, such as a light chicken braise or a pan sauce for pork tenderloin, they can dominate slightly, in which case use a bit less wine and make up the volume with broth.
4Pinot noir
Taste and texture differWhat changes
- Best for
- mushroom sauces, chicken braises, salmon, lighter dishes
Works, and it is the best choice if the dish involves mushrooms, chicken or salmon, but it is noticeably lighter than merlot. A beef ragu made with pinot noir tastes less rich and the sauce ends up paler and thinner in the mouth. Because pinot has almost no tannin you can reduce it much harder than merlot without any bitterness, which recovers a lot of the lost body. Browning a tablespoon of tomato paste in the pan before the wine goes in adds both the colour and the savoury depth you are missing, and a few dried mushrooms add the rest.
5Pomegranate juice with beef broth and vinegar
Different tasteWhat changes
- Best for
- alcohol-free braises, beef stew, glazes, cooking for children
The closest non-alcoholic version, and it works because pomegranate contributes the astringency that most fruit juices lack, so the sauce has some grip rather than tasting like sweetened stock. The broth supplies savoury depth and the vinegar supplies the acid a dry wine would bring. What changes is clear enough: the sauce tastes fruitier and less complex, and without alcohol to carry aroma the dish smells much less as it cooks. Use unsweetened juice, hold all the salt until the end because reducing broth concentrates it, and watch the pan, since fruit sugar catches sooner than wine.
6Red cooking wine, only with the salt adjusted
Different tasteWhat changes
- Best for
- heavily seasoned stews, emergencies, deglazing small amounts
Red cooking wine has a large amount of added salt so it can sit unrefrigerated in a grocery aisle, which means it is not interchangeable with merlot spoon for spoon. Use half as much, top up the volume with broth or water, cut the recipe's salt by about half and season only at the end after tasting. Never reduce it to a glaze: boiling a cup of it down concentrates enough salt to ruin the dish outright. The flavour is also flatter and harsher than real merlot, so save it for a heavily seasoned stew rather than a sauce where the wine is meant to shine.
What is Merlot?
Merlot is Merlot is a dry red wine made from the merlot grape, medium bodied and deep ruby in colour, soft and low in tannin, tasting of ripe plum, black cherry and sometimes cocoa.
Cooking tips
- Merlot's low tannin makes it the safest red to reduce hard. You can boil it down to a syrupy glaze for steak or short ribs without the bitterness an oaky cabernet can develop, which is exactly why it turns up in so many red wine sauce recipes.
- Taste the wine before it goes in. A lot of inexpensive merlot, and most bottles labelled simply red blend, carries noticeable residual sugar, and sugar concentrates as the sauce reduces until a pot roast tastes glazed. If the wine tastes sweet in the glass, use less of it and add broth to make up the volume.
- If a recipe asks for a full-bodied red and merlot is what you have, it will taste slightly thin. Brown a tablespoon of tomato paste in the pan, or add a few dried mushrooms, and the sauce gains the depth the bigger wine would have brought.
- It is soft enough to marinate delicate meats. A very tannic red left on chicken or pork for hours can turn the surface grey and slightly grainy, whereas merlot flavours it without that effect.
- Cook it in stainless steel, enamel or ceramic. Hours of a high-acid red in bare cast iron or unlined aluminium gives the sauce a metallic tang and dulls the colour.
Frequently asked questions
Can I just leave the merlot out?
Is merlot or cabernet better for cooking?
Can I use red wine vinegar instead of merlot?
Does cheap merlot work for cooking?
What is the best merlot substitute for beef stew?
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