Making daube de boeuf and I don't know what kind of white wine to use! I need a specific suggestion. I don't know anything about wine.

Folks, you have ESP: this week's edition of Splendid Table on NPR has a repeat on Dorie Greenspan's boeuf en daube, which uses Cognac/brandy as well as red. ;-)
http://www.splendidtable.org/episode/519

KimmyV - Bon appetit. When someone is so interested in ingredients, it is bound to turn out well! Wishing you a great meal.

I bought a 10 dollar bottle of Sauvignon blanc. Marinating meat tonight. Will let you know how it turns out!

What a delightful, informative thread this is! I've bookmarked the two recipes provided. I eat very little meat (as in beef maybe once per month), but you can be sure I'll be trying both of these in the months ahead. Thanks to all who've contributed. ;o) P.S. I'm firmly in the Cotes du Rhone camp, but the white version is calling me, loudly.

Let us know how you do, KimmyV. I've gotten vegetarians to take one night off for a good boeuf en daube. Usually they've just read To the Lighthouse, and they're plenty intrigued.

All the tips are great reading. I hope to try Patricia Wells's recipe. Wonderful autumn/winter dish!

So, I have made this twice before. I bought random bottles of wine. It tasted so amazing the first time but the second time there was a funky flavor. I think I must have used Chardonnay the second time. I am making this dish for someone else so I don't want to botch it. If you think this doesn't sound good, make Amandas version of Julia child's recipe. It is so good. Amazing flavor.

On my computer, it doesn't look like the whole link copied. Just in case, let's try again. http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/beef-and-white-wine-daube

Who has ever used white wine in a boeuf en daube? I guess you could... but it would lack the depth of flavor that is the gift of a red wine, right?

For a relatively inexpensive dry white, I'd look for Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris (or Grigio,) Chenin Blanc....I definitely agree with sticking to the $8-10 range; perfectly good for cooking. But, for a daube, I'd typically use a red - again, no need to use the seriously costly stuff. I think this 'good enough to drink' adage can be misleading. It's not 'so good that you'd LOVE to drink it,' but rather, 'good enough that it would be okay to drink,' especially for a long cooked dish like a daube. As a very young cook, I once made a beef with Barolo for a birthday dinner for an Italian friend - spent like $40 on the braising wine, that I could hardly afford. Delicious? Sure. But I'd never do it now - I've since made endless stracottos with far less costly wines, and they've all been pretty dang delicious.

I wouldn't recommend using Chardonnay in a boeuf en daube either. But red wine, yes, you should be able to get a quite good bottle for cooking for $8 to $10.

DO NOT use an "$8 to $10 bottle of Chardonnay. Most of them are too oaky and that transmits to your dish. Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris/Grigio all work much better than Chardonnay for cooking. (Drinking is another matter entirely.)

DO NOT use an "$8 to $10 bottle of Chardonnay. Most of them are too oaky and that transmits to your dish. Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris/Grigio all work much better than Chardonnay for cooking. (Drinking is another matter entirely.)

This is heresy, but you really cannot taste the difference between a 7 dollar bottle and a 15 dollar bottle once you cook it unless you have a super sophisticated palate. You will be fine with any 7-8 bottle of Savignon Blanc or Chardonnay. Save your money for wine you will serve to drink....

p.s. Make that "dessert wine," not "desert wine." Oy vey.

KimmyV, maybe you're already prepping your recipe, but in case you haven't begun yet, here's a great one for Boeuf en Daube, from Dorie Greenspan's cookbook "Around My French Table."
http://www.publicradio.org/columns/splendid-table/recipes/my_go-to_beef_daube.html

I believe her recipe is for 4-6 (easily doubled), calls for one 750-ml bottle fruity red wine (she mentions using a Syrah). You could use white wine but I think using white vs red, you will miss out on a little body and fullness. Not a crisis, but if you have a choice, red is better. Any $8 to $10 bottle of red wine at Costco will be fine (get a few if you're increasing the recipe), just not a sweet desert wine as mentioned above. And there probably will be someone at Costco who can help you!

Great dish for this nice fall weather... hope you enjoy your dinner.

Not easy to start from scratch! Sauvignon blanc would maybe be the safest, most readily available choice. Don't go with an American chardonnay.

That's my problem, not sure which wines are dry. This might sound lame but I will probably get the wine at Costco tomorrow so I don't know if there will be anyone to help me. Will look for a white rhone though. Thanks!

I usually make my boeuf en daube with red wine, most ususally with something like a Cote de Rhone. But you can make it with white--just be sure it's a dry (not sweet) wine. A white Rhone would be great, but there are plenty of other choices. Get someone to help you at the place you're buying the wine.