I usually use wine in my tomato sauces, which are usually slowly simmered on the lowest heat setting. I'd really like to make this recipe from The Pioneer Woman blog. However, I'm concerned about boiling the wine, especially over direct heat. Will it ruin the flavor? Is there any difference in quality/taste by heating to a boil using low heat vs high heat?
Update:
This article on The Academic Wino website gives some good data but still doesn't address intentionally heating the wine to a boiling temperature. To the current commenters, it is my thought that the pan deglazes rapidly and by the time you've poured the liquid, the pan temperature has dropped substantially. Even still, the fact that wine is used at high heat doesn't mean that it doesn't experience ill effects from that exposure.
I'm really looking more for the Alton Brown nitty gritty science of what, if anything, happens to the wine when it hits high cooking temps.
As a side note, the recipe was out of this world good, and I did in fact boil the wine I used.
Best Answer
De-Glazing a pan with liquid (including wine) to make a sauce is a very common technique. It involves boiling the liquid to remove browned bits of food from the pan.
De-Glazing Instructions
This technique has been used for years and it seems move severe than what the recipe you mentioned is doing so I don't think you have anything to worry about.