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Pictured here are Chicken Breasts, stuffed with Goat Cheese Feta and poached Rapini. They are served with a Cabernet Sauvignon reduction and sauteed wild mushrooms.
Reducing the Cabernet (or any wine) should best be done slowly. Let the wine reduce over a low heat. The point is to let the flavors concentrate, not boil them away. By such time as the wine is ready to use, it should be thickened to an almost syrupy consistency.
At this stage, there are a number of options. One can simply serve the sauce as is ... but it is possible that very strong tannic, resiny elements (for red wines) or acidity (for white wines) will have been overly accentuated by the reducing process. I typically like to finish the reduced wine with butter and/or demiglace (for red wines), or butter and cream (for white wines). These rich additions help mellow out the flavors and lend an attractive shine and gloss to the finished product. Be sure to whisk thoroughly over heat to ensure the butter doesn't fall out of suspension, and finish with salt and pepper.
Bon appetit!
