If you love cooking with wine, Holland House is a great place to venture. I have been cooking with them for about two years. The selection of these products is just fantastic. If you can’t come up with something to make, just add one of these to any basic meat or pasta sauce and you are good to go! Holland House Cooking Wine and Premium Vinegars are a welcome addition to any kitchen. Whether you want to make sauces, marinades, glazes or sautés, these cooking wines are the key. They have robust aromas that enhance even the simplest of dishes. For something incredible, open a bottle of Holland House Premium Vinegar- the flavors come alive, marinades sing and salads dazzle. If you are cooking with kids in the house, the alcohol cooks out of the dishes. Just make sure you cook all of your sauces well and to a boil when possible. If you are not a wine drinker, which I am not, you might want to choose recipes that call for the smaller amounts. I made Pasta Amatriciana last year, which called for a cup of the wine, and it was to much wine flavor for me. I am not a drinker by any means. I tried the recipe at a later date with just 1/2 cup of the wine and it was much better

Holland House makes 6 different cooking wines and they are all savory.

1.  Red Cooking Wine: This wine has a classic burgundy aroma with rich ruby color. Its smooth, mellow flavor is light and not too dry, which is ideal for cooking.
2.  White Cooking Wine: Is a crisp and light white wine aroma. Slightly dry with sauterne-like flavor, it’s delectably subtle yet distinct.
3.  Sherry Cooking Wine: Comes in a light golden color and has a mild dry sherry flavor. It’s a bit nutty, but more caramel-like, and has a delicious taste.
4.  Marsala Cooking Wine: This smooth, well-rounded, medium-bodied wine is sweet with hints of hazelnut. Marsala Cooking Wine is versatile with a food-friendly flavor. Break out the chicken!
5. Vermouth Cooking Wine: This dry, light flavor is well-balanced with a hint of spice.
6. White with Lemon Flavor Cooking Wine: Brisk, fresh lemon aroma made with the right amount of tang- it’s white wine with a twist!

What is Cooking Wine?

Holland House Cooking Wine is wine MADE for cooking. Please don’t drink it! lol Holland House uses premium quality wine stock and has a perfectly balanced taste and aroma. The salt that is added makes it stable in your pantry and gives you a consistency of flavor you can depend on from the first time you open it, to the last drop. Cooking wine is used as an ingredient; it’s not meant to be consumed as a beverage.

Choosing the Right Flavor for Your Dish
Wine should complement your dish, not only in flavor, but in color as well. Try Holland House^® White, White with Lemon, and Vermouth and Sherry flavors for light-colored and mild-flavored entrées such as poultry, pork or fish. Try Red and Marsala for darker and more flavorful meats and game. However, taste is a personal preference, so use your imagination to experiment!

Holland House also offers a line of  Premium Vinegars in Five Bold Varieties

1.  White Wine Vinegar – Light and crisp with a delicate balance of flavors like those found in the premium California white wine from which it’s produced.
2.  Red Wine Vinegar – Robust and full-bodied wine vinegar offers a pleasing concentration of flavors and rich red appearance consistent with Premium California red wine.
3. Garlic Flavor Red Wine Vinegar –  Premium California red wine infused with mellow garlic flavor to create an extraordinarily versatile flavor enhancer
4.  Malt Vinegar – Drawing on the distinctive characteristic of malted barley for its rich golden color and strong – but not overpowering flavor
5.  Balsamic Vinegar –  Meticulously crafted from the juice of Trebbiano grapes from Modena, Italy to produce full-bodied flavor that’s both aromatic and sweet

Do you have ALDI’s grocery stores in your area? We do but, I must confess, I have never been in one locally. I vacationed in Atlanta a few years ago and shopped at one very briefly to pick up a few things. I didn’t pay much attention to the store itself and now I wish I had. It might help me with this article. I know stores are so different from one area to the next.

I recently was given the chance to write this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of ALDI. I went to the website and looked them up and found that there was one very close to my home that I didn’t even know existed. I agreed to participate and they sent me some gift certificates.

The funny thing was, when I received them, they included a shopping list to purchase various items that were important in association with wine for entertaining. Did you know ALDI’s sold wine? I didn’t! Heck, I didn’t even know grocery stores sold alcohol until I moved to Ohio. They don’t in PA where I am from!

I headed over to my local Aldi with my gift certificates in hand to check out what they had.  To my surprise they had a really big selection. I picked up a bottle of Chaza Moscato, (this is a deep red wine made with a sweeter more flavorful grape), a bottle of Villa Malizia Pinot Grigio (this is a white wine and this brand is good choice for the price but it a typical Pinot) and a bottle of Landshut Riesling (this is a white wine, very clean taste and leaves your mouth almost refreshed). To pair with these I also purchased Edenvale Brie Cheese, Belmont Cheesecake Sampler, Grandessa Mini Eclairs and Havarti Cheese. I LOVE LOVE Havarti! I was given $50 in gift certificates to create a holiday treat. I purchased all of these items for $50.28.

As for the store itself, it was well organized, the staff was nice, it was clean and I was out in less than 30 minutes with all of my things! Check our your local Aldi’s the next time you are in the mood for entertaining on a budget.

Disclosure: I was not paid in any form of cash for this posting. While participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of ALDI, I received a gift certificate to facilitate my post. The views and opinions expressed in this blogs content are solely my own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product should be verified by the above mentioned manufacturer, PR Agency or product designer. This post is not endorsed, sponsored or has any connection to twitter, facebook or any other network. This post is solely the property of of MAK Media, LLC® and/or its above sponsor. The product itself did not persuade my personal beliefs or views. I was under no obligation to write a positive review. You can read more about our Disclosure Policy here.