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Which Came First: The Chicken or the Grape?

Almost every month, I get at least half a dozen requests to recommend a wine that goes well with chicken. My first response used to be, “How is the chicken being prepared?” But lately, I find myself inquiring, “What type of wine do you like to drink?” and then proceed from there. For in my thinking, between the two, “the grape” comes first.

Chicken is perhaps one of the most versatile meats available and, for the inventive chef, presents the perfect canvas for playing with flavors and textures. Indeed, most of the chicken available these days is so flavorless that it needs at least some culinary, if not divine, intervention. Alas, gone are the days when home cooks, like my mother in Brooklyn, used to pick up their chicken at a the nearest “poultry farm” (a.k.a. “slaughter house” in the city). That’s when chicken had real flavor and required only a simple roasting for a luscious feast. Gone also are the days when one relished the crackling skin of the roasted bird and never even thought about cholesterol. Today, however, the ubiquitous skinless breast of chicken reigns supreme in the American diet, begging for a dime’s worth of flavor from even the simplest salad leaves it’s propped upon. But enough of nostalgia.

When selecting wines for chicken, it’s almost easier to list the wines that don’t pair well with it. In my opinion, these are big heavy wines like California Cabernets, Australian Shirazes, or Italian Barolos. (Save these for serving with a great steak, when they can shine on their own.) At the other end of the wine spectrum, I find that sweet wines and rosés don’t fare well—except perhaps on a picnic when a chilled Rose d’Anjou might be perfect with a roast chicken leg. Aside from these exceptions, I think the possibilities are limited only by what’s available at home or at your wine store.

If you like full-flavored red wines like Zinfandels or Chianti Classico, go for rich chicken sautés with earthy flavors and ingredients like mushrooms and peppers, for example a chicken cacciatore. These fuller bodied wines should provide a nice complement to the dish.

If you prefer medium-bodied reds like a Pinot Noir or a Cabernet Franc, a slow simmered chicken (or rooster) stew like the classic Coq au Vin would be a good pairing. In fact, Cabernet Franc-based wines like Chinon and Saumur-Champigny are also quite wonderful with a chicken that’s been slow roasted in a pot with plenty of unpeeled garlic cloves and herbs.

Lighter reds like an Italian Dolcetto or a French Beaujolais-Villages can serve as a good match for a simple roast chicken or a grilled breast.

If you like full flavored whites like a fine Montrachet or an affordable Macon, a California Chardonnay, or a Viognier, try a chicken entrée with a rich cream sauce, where the wine will serve as an enhancement to the dish, or serve a simple roast chicken, in which case the bird will serve simply as a platform for the wine.

If you lean toward steely crisp whites like Alsatian Rieslings, Bordeaux Graves, Loire Sancerres, Italian Pinot Grigios, California Sauvignon Blanc, go the roast chicken route. These wines, in my opinion, seem to bring out flavors in even the dullest of birds.

Dry, medium-bodied whites like French Pinot Blanc, Entre-Deux-Mers, Cotes Chalonnaise, and the complex Italian Arneis can serve as nice complements to classic chicken sautés as well as to roasters.

Finally fruitier whites like Chenin Blanc-based Vouvrays from the Loire provide the perfect accompaniment to cream-sauced chicken dishes.

Keep in mind that these recommendations are merely guidelines and reflect my own personal tastes. As I’ve said many times on this page and elsewhere, always follow your own palate and your own preferences when selecting a bottle for your table.

In fact, we used similar guidelines to evaluate the winning wine for our Valentine's Day TableWine Challenge, which we are pleased to announce was the 1999 Giuseppe Quintarelli, Secco Ca del Merlo. The winner for writing the best account of selecting a wine for the Challenge recipe was the same entrant.

For this tasting, we attempted to acquire as many of the wines from local retailers that were suggested by our contestants. Unfortunately, there were a few that were simply not available. We supplemented the wines suggested by our readers with others that we thought would be good matches. We tasted the wines first by themselves and then with the Wine Glazed Chicken recipe from our TableWine Challenge. Here are our tasting notes:

1999 Planeta, La Segreta Bianco, Sicilia IGT ($11.99)

Pale gold in color, this Sicilian white has a refreshing nose of vanilla and almond. On entry, this wine is crisp and shows plenty of good acidity. It’s packed with lemon citrus and under-ripe peach flavors that linger on the palate. It has an unctuous mouthfeel and coats the tongue. There’s also a hint of spice. This well-structured white has a long, lingering finish with a touch of spice. This wine was excellent with the chicken; in fact, it was even better with the food. Definitely one of the stars of this tasting. Imported by Vias Imports, Ltd., New York, NY.

1999 Giuseppe Quintarelli, Secco Ca del Merlo, Vino da Tavolo, Bianco Veronese ($17.00)

Light gold in color, this wine exudes flavors of Granny Smith apples and cream on the nose. It’s crisp on entry, showing some acidity. On the palate, it delivers plenty of lemon citrus flavors accompanied by bitter almond notes. Well structured with good acidity, it has an adequate finish. This is a truly elegant wine that accented the chicken dish, retaining its own character without overpowering the food. Another star of this tasting and the winning wine entry of the TableWine Challenge. Imported by Robert Chadderdon, New York, NY.

1997 Weingut Joh. Haart, Piesporter Goldtropfchen, Riesling-Kabinett ($12.99)

Pale in color with yellow green tints, this wine has an herbaceous nose with hints of Muscat. On the palate, it's quite forward and delivers fruity flavors of ripe peach. Light bodied, this wine is well structured with adequate acidity to stand up to food. It was a bit short on the finish though. One taster commented: “…fortunately the flavors don’t linger.” We all thought that this wine overpowered the chicken. Imported by Romaine C. Rice, Virginia Beach, VA.

1999 Schneider, Pfalz, Chardonnay, Qba Trocken ($16.99)

Translucent, almost clear in color, this wine has an enticing nose that’s both herbaceous and fruity with grass and tropical fruit. On the palate, it’s full flavored with baked-apple flavors that are tempered by clove-like spice notes. This wine is well structured with crisp acidity and long-lasting flavor. It also has a good finish. We might not have recognized this wine as a Chardonnay if we had not read the label. It went quite well with the chicken. Imported by Wines for Food, New York, NY.

1997 Domaine du Closel, Cuvee Speciale, Savennieres ($16.99)

Pale yellow in color, this wine has a big, alluring nose of honeysuckle and minerals together with some mineral notes. Nicely structured with crisp acidity, it delivers loads and loads of distinctive floral flavors like violets that don’t quit. There are some mineral flavors as well. It also has a good finish. Although it went well with the chicken, some tasters found it “a bit much.” Imported by Europvin USA, Emeryville, CA.

1998 Livio Zorzettig, Pinot Grigio Colli Orientali del Friuli DOC ($11.99)

Pale gold in color, this wine has an attractive lemon citrus nose with hints of vanilla and minerals. Rich and unctuous on the palate, it delivers loads of citrus and cream flavors along with good acidity. It also has a good mid-palate and a fine finish. This wine went quite well with the chicken. Imported by Wm. Grant & Sons, New York, NY.

1999 Vietti, Roero Arneis, DOC ($17.99)

Pale straw in color, this wine has a subtle nose of minerals and vanilla. On entry, it’s super crisp and delivers straightforward lemon citrus flavors that linger on the tongue. It’s nicely structured and has a long spicy finish. It was good with the chicken; in fact, some thought it improved with the food. Imported by Premiere Wine Merchants, New York, NY.

2000 Yalumba, Oxford Landing, Viognier “Limited Release” South Australia ($12.00)

Pale straw in color with hints of green, this wine has a big, enticing fresh nose of white flowers like carnations along with some tropical fruit. It’s assertive on entry, delivering plenty of tropical fruit flavors like mango and pineapple. Nicely structured with good acidity, its crispness lasts along with its flavors. This wine went extremely well with the food; its acidity cut through the sauce and its flavors enveloped the meat. Imported by Negociants USA, Inc., Napa, CA.

1999 Francis Coppola, Bianco, California White Wine ($11.99)

This somewhat idiosyncratic blend of Chardonnay, Riesling, Muscat, and Malvasia is pale straw in color with hints of green. It has a complex, yet understated, herbaceous nose with hints of kumquat. It coats the tongue with bright fruit flavors reminiscent of apricot and a bit of rock candy. It has a good mouthfeel that’s a little puckery. The flavors last and the wine has a long finish. It went well with the chicken. I would also highly recommend serving this wine as an aperitif.

1997 Hoppler, Zweigelt, Burgenland, Trocken-Dry ($14.99)

This Austrian wine has a beautiful magenta color and a big forward nose of bing cherry and licorice with some tar notes. On entry, it’s big and bold. Packed with plenty of wild Morellino cherry flavor, there are also some cedar flavors that provide a counterpoint to the fruit. It's well structured with soft tannins that envelop the fruit. It has a good finish with some spice notes. It was good with the chicken. Imported by Violette Wine Imports, Cambridge, MA.

1998 Charles Joguet, Chinon “Cuvee Terroir” ($16.99)

Light garnet in color with good legs, this wine has an earthy nose with mushroom notes. Elegant on entry, it delivers lingering cherry flavors complemented by tobacco notes. Medium bodied, this Cabernet Franc-based wine is well structured with fruit and tannins in perfect balance. It has a long spicy finish. Although good on its own, it was even better with the food. Definitely a star of this tasting. Imported by Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkley. CA.

TableWine is a personal website and does not sell any wine. However, many of the wines we review are purchased from our local wine merchant, Wine & Spirit World. Their web site may help you locate a good number of our selections. Also, if your local wine store does not carry a wine that you've read about here, don't hesitate to ask them to order a bottle or two for you. For imported wines, you may need to supply them with the name of the importer or distributor.

If you have any suggestions for future tastings, drop us a line at the address below.