I'm currently watching a cooking series (The Everyday Gourmet) and in one of the lessons the chef talks about what to look for in a wine. For red wine he mentions to look for a wine with a deep red colour as well as a good tannin content, mentioning that subtleties of flavour will likely be lost during cooking.
As he was talking about it, rosehip tea popped up as something that meets those two criterias. I tried searching online but couldn't find anything on the subject. It seems a bit far fetched but it has me curious.
I don't drink alcohol and have no idea what red wine tastes like so I can't test it as I don't have anything to compare it to. What are your thoughts?
EDIT: Instead of straight rosehip, would there be anything I could add that would make it resemble red wine a little more (i.e. a bit of sugar, something acidic, etc)?
Best Answer
I'm in the same boat. Although I've never tried using rosehip tea as a substitute, and just by the taste, I think it would be better than many suggested wine substitutes (apple juice, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar), there are better substitutes. See What is a substitute for red or white wine in a recipe?.
My recommendation is a nonalcoholic grape juice made from similar grapes (such as Meier's Sparkling Grape Juice). There are many different types of red wine, and Meier's doesn't have options for all of them, but the ones they have seem to work well for me, especially the Burgundy. It is also often available at my local supermarket. You could also go with a real wine with the alcohol removed such as Fre, but there are many people who say not all the alcohol is removed, and they are also pretty expensive (one bottle is cheaper than Meier's, but by the case it's much more).
Don't try using the purple grape juice available at most grocery stores (Welches or similar). The taste is very different and the color will usually not be appealing.
NOTE: I have no affiliation with Meier's other than being a happy and frequent customer.