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Red Wine With Chicken?

post #1 of 31
6/17/09 at 3:24pm
Thread Starter 
I'm fairly new to drinking wine and I'm very new to the art of pairing wine with food. I've always heard that one should pair red meat with red wine and chicken/pasta with white wine. With that being said, I don't really care for white wine. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how to select a red wine to go with chicken, a pasta dish or other meals that are traditionally paired with white wine?
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post #2 of 31
6/17/09 at 3:39pm
pinot noir always works well
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post #3 of 31
6/17/09 at 4:00pm
It depends what you're having.

A chicken panini on the patio -- I'd go with a Charonnay probably.

Coq au vin with whatever I feel like (if I were cooking it'd probably be whatever I cooked with).

Chicken cacciatore can go either way -- the sauce is usually made with white wine, so if I were cooking I'd probably just drink that. But sometimes I feel like having a red -- in this case, probably a Montepulciano because the dryness and lack of spiciness works better with the white wine in the sauce.

Just test stuff out and think to yourself while you're eating: what do you enjoy about the food? What do you enjoy about the wine? What similarities are there? What in either detracts from the other?

For instance, I know if I had a super tuscan with chicken cacciatore it'd probably overpower the sauce a bit. If I had it with a big steak or even a big piece of stuffed pork it'd cut through the heartiness of the bistecca and add some flavor beyond the beef.
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post #4 of 31
6/17/09 at 4:48pm
why is trying to flex his knowledge abit (and admittedly lost me in reference to the dryness of his red wine), but he's got the right idea. Don't worry about white/red per se, match the quality of the particular wine with the qualities of the particular dish.

As a general rule of thumb, pinots will go with many chicken dishes. This is not universal however, as I'd put a slighty off-dry, sharp, minerally Riesling with say, spicy Thai peanut sauce chicken skewers.
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post #5 of 31
6/17/09 at 5:01pm
Is it this chicken? Then definitely red.
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post #6 of 31
6/17/09 at 5:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Piobaire View Post
why is trying to flex his knowledge abit (and admittedly lost me in reference to the dryness of his red wine), but he's got the right idea. Don't worry about white/red per se, match the quality of the particular wine with the qualities of the particular dish

Have you ever had montepulciano? It's not the best wine by a long shot, but it has a rustic character unlike almost any other old world reds created by its intense dryness. Really, it works well with dishes like cacciatores that have a lot of flavor and spices of their own while still being relatively light compared to full ragus or stews.

I like this in particular: http://www.seattlepi.com/food/312941_winepick25.html
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post #7 of 31
6/17/09 at 5:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by why View Post
Have you ever had montepulciano? It's not the best wine by a long shot, but it has a rustic character unlike almost any other old world reds created by its intense dryness. Really, it works well with dishes like cacciatores that have a lot of flavor and spices of their own while still being relatively light compared to full ragus or stews.

I like this in particular: http://www.seattlepi.com/food/312941_winepick25.html

There's the phrase I'm having problems with. Dry is dry. It's not like Wine A has no residual sugar and Wine B is "intensely dry" with a negative sugar content.

Dry is dry and the vast majority of wines have no residual sugar upon completion of fermentation.
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post #8 of 31
6/17/09 at 6:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Piobaire View Post
There's the phrase I'm having problems with. Dry is dry. It's not like Wine A has no residual sugar and Wine B is "intensely dry" with a negative sugar content.

Dry is dry and the vast majority of wines have no residual sugar upon completion of fermentation.

I can see why you're having trouble if you think there's no varying degress of dryness. Dryness also isn't entirely dependent on the sugar content.
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post #9 of 31
6/17/09 at 6:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by why View Post
I can see why you're having trouble if you think there's no varying degress of dryness. Dryness also isn't entirely dependent on the sugar content.

Once you reach essentially zero residual sugar, the state of the vast majority of wines, I do fail to see how it can vary. I'm always willing to learn though. And yeah, to my knowledge, dryness = sugar content (or lack thereof).

Now, the taste of a dry wine might vary, based upon other factors, i.e. ETOH content, tannin level, acidity etc. But dry is dry. Taste, however, can be manipulated.
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post #10 of 31
6/17/09 at 9:43pm
Don't think of wine as this incredibly strange creature or anything. It's a foodstuff. Pairing food and wine is easy, and doesn't rely on red wine = meat and white wine = pasta/seafood. Don't think of it that way--- erase that from your mind immediately. Assuming you're drinking wine, then it's part of your meal. It's not separate from the meal, but is contained entirely within the meal. There are two basic ways to pair food with wine, 1) pick a wine that is similar in taste and texture to the food, or 2) pick a wine that offers a contrast in taste or texture. There are definitely some natural matches--- foie gras/sauternes, oysters and champagne, etc, but wine pairing is easy. Make it a part of the dish and either contrast it or complement it.

When he was at Trio, Grant Achatz took patagonian toothfish, crusted it in cooked popcorn, seared it, and paired it with a really buttery chardonnay. People shit their pants over it, acting like it was some incredibly genius thing. It's not. It's popcorn and butter. This stuff is too easy. Don't make the pairing difficult on yourself.
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post #11 of 31
6/17/09 at 9:45pm
^ Sauternes with blue cheeses. ZOMG.
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post #12 of 31
6/17/09 at 10:16pm
The perfect wine for you would be beaujolais. It's light and fruity, less tannin and good middle ground between a white and a more complex flavorful red. Stay away from the regular beaujolais though and go for beaujolais villages, it's usually 1-2 dollars more but a much better wine. Cru beaujolais is better yet. Many wine snobs stay away from beaujolais but many of the village and cru versions can be quite complex yet still light and fruity. Good for the summertime with any food if you don't like whites. Plus, it is cheap.
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post #13 of 31
6/17/09 at 10:20pm
Are there red's you like? If so, get one of those, but get a new vintner to try out. Food pairings is for the birds. Who cares if it pairs off well when you think the wine takes like crap?
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post #14 of 31
6/17/09 at 10:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by why View Post
I can see why you're having trouble if you think there's no varying degress of dryness. Dryness also isn't entirely dependent on the sugar content.

Dryness is totally dependent on the sugar content. Your perception of it being dry may be due to other reasons but that is because of a lack of experience and knowledge of the different aspects of wine. When a wine is said to be dry, that means it has no residual sugar, period. Off-dry means that there is some sugar but a very small amount, for example, .03 percent. Sweet wines are ones that have 3 percent or more residual sugar.

What some people think is dryness is actually tannin. Tannin can dry your mouth out quickly and cause a puckering effect, but that has nothing to do with whether the wine is dry or not.
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post #15 of 31
6/17/09 at 11:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jbreen1 View Post
The perfect wine for you would be beaujolais.
+1 Brun l'ancien VV and roast chicken is just about perfect imo. While there are great pairings, my advice for great food is if in doubt, don't worry about the perfect pairing and simply choose one of your favorite wines. You’ll be guaranteed great food and great wine, a win-win proposition.
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