Red Wine Reduction Sauce Recipe and Classic Culinary Pairings

A red wine reduction sauce is the end result of cooking down red wine and other flavorings, like garlic, a sprig of fresh thyme, and shallots, until the mixture is thick and almost syrupy, similar to the consistency of aged balsamic vinegar. It’s one of the staple sauces that students learn in culinary school, but it is not officially one of the culinary world’s “mother sauces” (béchamel, veloute, espagnole, hollandaise, and tomato sauces).

Red wines like merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and pinot noir are the most common to use for a red wine reduction sauce because they are woody, slightly sweet, full-bodied, and on the drier side. A red zinfandel tends to be too sweet for a red wine sauce, but it can come down to personal preference. Keep in mind that some pinot noirs will be sweeter and some more acidic.

Overall, choose a dry red wine, but always cook with a wine you would drink on its own. There are plenty of cooking red wines out there, but those are not the best options for recipes in which the red wine will be the star ingredient, such as with a red wine reduction sauce. Taste the wine before you use it for your sauce so you can determine whether you like it, as well as what other ingredients might pair well with its flavor profile.

Depending on your personal taste preferences, a red wine reduction sauce can be a good accompaniment to many different dishes for holidays, special occasions, or any time of year. That said, the sauce pairs particularly well with cuts of meat. Here are a handful of dishes in which you can utilize a red wine reduction sauce.

1. 1. Beef tenderloin: Filet mignon and beef tenderloin are classic cuts of beef with very low fat content, so they benefit from a sauce of some kind. To boost the flavor of the red wine sauce, sear the beef filet in olive oil in a stainless steel sauté pan until the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees Fahrenheit for medium doneness. Remove the beef tenderloin from the pan, add the red wine, and scrape all of the browned bits (also called fond) on the bottom of the pan—a process called deglazing. Those browned bits have flavor and will enhance the red wine sauce. Then add your other flavorings of choice, like sautéed mushrooms, herbs, shallots, or dijon mustard.
2. 2. Braised short ribs: Red wine is already a common ingredient in the braising liquid in short rib recipes. As the short ribs cook over a long period of time, the juices and other flavorings in the braising liquid combine with the red wine. Once the short ribs have finished braising, you can run the braising liquid through a strainer to remove any solid pieces (such as herbs or garlic) and pour the liquid into a small saucepan. Cook that liquid down, adding more red wine or beef stock as necessary for flavor balance until it coats the back of a spoon—a quality called “nappe” in the culinary world.
3. 3. Pork chops: Highly versatile, pork chops pair just as well with lighter flavors like apple and white wine as they do with richer flavors like red wine–poached pears and hearty herbs. For a red wine reduction sauce to pair with pork, use chicken stock instead of beef stock to balance out the richness of the final dish. Pork chops also benefit from sous vide cooking, a method in which you cook the meat inside a vacuum-sealed bag submerged in temperature-controlled water. As a last step, sear the pork chops in a stainless steel pan to achieve color on their outsides and to provide some fond in the pan, which you can use for the reduction sauce.
4. 4. Roast beef: For the richest flavor, cook roast beef over a long period of time with vegetables and other flavorings. Season it generously with kosher salt, black pepper, and herbs, which will enhance the liquid the meat produces as it cooks. Then you can use this liquid for the red wine reduction sauce. Add additional stock, aromatics, and the red wine, then cook down the mixture until it becomes thick. Serve your sauce with the sliced roast beef and vegetables on the side.
   
5. 5. Venison: A game meat, venison possesses a distinct flavor that pairs well with the tannins and sweetness of many red wines. Whether or not you use your cooking liquid or natural juices from the cooking process is personal preference, since the flavor of venison can be much stronger than that of other cuts of beef. Venison stock is a specialty ingredient and not common in grocery stores, but you can use beef stock, chicken stock, or even vegetable broth when making your red wine reduction sauce.