Wine adds excellent flavor to food and it’s a great way to add depth to a dish; however, wine has alcohol that most wish to remove before the food is complete. Most say, “Don’t worry, the alcohol will burn off,” but does it? Furthermore, if it doesn’t, the next question is how long to boil wine to remove alcohol?
So, How Long to Boil Wine to Remove Alcohol?
It takes approximately 3 hours for alcohol to evaporate. On average, 30 minutes results in a 10 percent loss of the original alcohol content. For example, 5 ounces of wine (a glass) contains an average of 12% alcohol, which amounts to 0.6 ounces (5 x 0.12 = 0.6). If you add that to a sauce or stew, alcohol evaporation occurs slowly. See the chart below for details.
| Boiling Time | % Alcohol Loss | Remaining Alcohol Content |
| 30 minutes | 10% | 0.54-ounce |
| 1 hour | 20% | 0.48-ounce |
| 1 hour and 30 minutes | 30% | 0.42-ounce |
| 2 hours | 40% | 0.36-ounce |
| 2 hours and 30 minutes | 50% | 0.30-ounce |
| 3 hours | 60% | 0.24-ounce |
| 3 hours and 30 minutes | 70% | 0.18-ounce |
| 4 hours | 80% | 0.12-ounce |
| 4 hours and 30 minutes | 90% | 0.06-ounce |
| 5 hours | 100% | 0-ounce |
As you can see, even after 3 hours, all the alcohol isn’t removed. It isn’t completely gone until the 5 hour mark. This may differ depending on the recipe and how much wine you add. However, the removal of alcohol does not happen within a brief period.
How to Boil Wine to Remove Alcohol in 3 Steps
Now let’s go over precisely how to boil wine to remove alcohol. To start, you will need the following:
- Food
This can be a sauce, stew, etc.
- Wine
Use a wine you enjoy drinking to add the best flavor to your food.
- Time
As mentioned, removing alcohol through boiling is a slow process.
Then:
- Ensure that the food you plan to add wine to is at least 172 degrees Fahrenheit. It needs to be hot enough for alcohol evaporation to take place.
- Pour in the wine.
- Boil or simmer until the desired amount of alcohol is removed. To calculate that, use the information provided in the table, above.
Overall, how long to boil wine to remove alcohol varies. Factors include the alcohol content of the wine, as well as how much you plan to use. Fortunately, it can be easily calculated. That said, unless you’re willing to put in the time, there will be alcohol in your dish. Whether or not that is an issue is up to you.
