I get 4 pack of single serve bottles. They’re a good size for cooking

This is the way. No home recipe calls for a bottle of wine and wine goes downhill quickly. I don't really like wine so this has been my go to for years.

I think OP wants to know what kind of wine tho. I use pinot grigio personally.

Seconding this. Most stores will let you mix the bottles of the same brand/ price. For cooking a lot of recipes ask for dry wines- OP should pick a Cabernet and Chardonnay/ Sauvignon blanc that would work for most American style recipes. (I don’t think I’ve seen very expensive wines in the small bottles- sutter home/ barefoot/ Cavit are all good for cooking)

Madeira and Marsala are nice to have for specific pan sauces (chicken Madeira from Cheesecake Factory style dishes).

If you ask at the liquor store what do the restaurants buy, they’ll show you… also Costco has good prices on full bottles/ boxed wine.. just don’t buy Kirkland sangria to cook with- it already has juice mixed in.

The cheapest wine you can find. I have never noticed a difference in taste when using higher quality wines.

Go to the grocery store and whatever bottle is normally $10-15 and is on sale for $8-12, buy that one. It is good enough to drink (which is supposed to be an indicator as to whether you should cook with it) and affordable enough to cook with. While you don't have to use the beef=red, fish=white, it is a good to remember that reds are typically heavier and whites are lighter. I do Coq a Vin with red wine.

Fortified wines are good options if you're not using them often, they will last much longer in the fridge than a standard drinking wine.

Vermouth, Sherry, Madeira, Marsala, and Port are all in my fridge at all times. They don't really go bad, they just turn more sour/vinegary, which isn't really a bad thing for savory cooking.

My wife is a white wine drinker, so we always have Sauvignon Blanc in the fridge as well, this is another great "light" white wine option.

Shaoxing (Chinese cooking wine) is a great option as well, but good luck finding an unsalted version.

You might not necessarily care about the specific grape variety once you've established whether your recipe needs a white or a red wine, and a dry or a sweet one. Usually it's dry.

The key difference between white and red is that red contains tannins: the same things that make your mouth dry when eating a quince, drinking espresso or a strong black tea etc..

That gives a taste that I'd describe as "heavier", and red wine's definitely more assertive than white in a dish.

Don't follow the silly old "red wine for red meat, white for white meat". White is more versatile. It doesn't really have anything that red doesn't have, it's just a simpler product. So, you use red when you specifically want the things white doesn't have. White wine is perfectly fine with any type of protein. A lot (possibly the majority) of chefs in Bologna prefer white over red for bolognese ragu.