Logically, there is no point in cooking with wine you wouldn't drink. This is because the flavours you don't like, will certainly become a part of the taste of the dish you are cooking. This doesn't mean that you should cook with a $50 worth bottle of wine, but at least choose a good-quality wine, which doesn't contain too intense or savory flavours.
Decide: Dry or Sweet Wine
Depending on your taste preferences, decide whether you need to buy dry or sweet wine. Dry wines have higher alcohol content and small amounts of sugar. On the other side, sweet wines have larger sugar quantity. It is up to you to decide whether you want your dish to be sweeter or not.
Consider The Acidity Of The Cooking Wine
Since cooking wines vary in acidity, a feature known for accentuating the natural flavours of the food. Wines with higher acidity make a good choice for cooking fish. If your aim is to suppress certain flavours in your dish steer away from such cooking wines.
Tannins Structure is an Important Feature
Red wines have more tannins than lighter wines. This said, the darker the wine colour is the higher the concentration of tannins is. Wines with higher tannins concentration are best paired with spicy dishes.
Aromatic Cooking Wine Best Matches Spicy Flavours
An aromatic wine rich in fruity flavours and aromas make a perfect selection for balancing the flabours in dishes with heavy spice content. Avoid cooking heavily spiced dishes with lighter wines because there will be no effect of adding the wine. Its flavour will simply get lost in the overall taste and flavour of the dish.