Wine Tutorial: Selecting a Wine to Serve with Roast Chicken

Welcome to the second installment of Jammin’ Jiosa’s Wine Notes. My good friend and food aficionado, Susan Williams, has invited me to share wine tips for pairing great and affordable wines with her tasty recipes. 

On this installment, I offer you a choice of 3 wines to compliment Susan’s recipes. Two are $15 (and under) , and one is in the $20-30 range.

Let’s talk about Susan’s Best Roast Chicken Recipe. There is a wine rule of thumb that is usually a safe bet to follow: red meat/red wine; white meat/white wine. This is not always true but it can be a fairly good rule. I confess I am a red wine lover, however, as of late I have been introduced to some fantastic whites. Since warm weather is arriving, we will be talking about some “refreshing” wines ( both red and white) that can be served nicely chilled in the near future. But for now let’s discuss my choices that will match nicely with Susan’s roast chicken recipe. 

I’ll start with a French white wine made that you can use to prepare Susan’s recipe, as well as for drinking. This wine is made from a little known grape that you might not go looking for, called Picpoul de Pinet . It is extremely affordable, at $9.99 a bottle.  Most of the production comes from the Picpoul de Pinet appellation. Pinet is a small ,quant village in Languedoc which is where the wine is produced. This grape is one of five blending grapes used in the ever popular Châteauneuf-du-Pape! It is crisp and clean, a perfect wine to cook with as well as to enjoy drinking. With lovely floral and mineral hints on the nose to a clean crisp finish, it is perfect for this dish as well as oysters and seafood. Try it!

Moving on to the reds, I just tasted Napa Cellars Pinot Noir ($15). This wine is a light, delicate, fruit forward delight. It has notes of strawberry, cherry, and soft spice with a nice long finish. Pinot Noir is often a bit earthy in nature and has transparent juice, not heavy like Cabernet or Shiraz. You can actually see through the wine when you hold your glass to the light. Pinot Noir is a great match with chicken, as well as for barbecue and lighter foods for warmer weather.

The third choice for this recipe is an Italian red. With the wonderful seasoning that Susan is using on the chicken, a nice Chianti is in order! The garlic and rosemary will fall in love with the Chianti’s dry, medium bodied, earthiness. Chianti is typically made from Sangiovese, a red grape that comes from the Chianti Classico region (Tuscany). The wine usually has hints of floral on the nose, and black cherries, earth and vanilla on the palate. Your taste buds are sure to be dancing with pleasure!

 When choosing a Chianti, it’s best to stick with a Chianti Classico Reserva. The one I recommend is Nipozzano Chianti Rufini ($29). It is primarily made from Sangiovese grapes but blended with small amounts of Canaiolo, Trebbiano, and Colorino grapes. This wine is absolutely delicious with flavors of plums and pepper, you’ll also taste cherry, blackberries, and spice on the finish! YUMMY!

If you are in the Nashville area be sure and stop by the great new wine store RED Spirits and Wine, located in Bellevue,TN. All of the wines mentioned here are available at RED.

If you have comments or questions, feel free to contact me at [email protected] Also, please stop by and check out my music at http://jiosa.com/albums/ …..nothing like jazz and wine!

Salute!

From Susan: 
Please feel free to ask Denny questions here as well, or just show him a little comment love. He’ll be reading and answering questions here, too, and the question you’d like to ask might be the question that is on the mind of lots of other readers. Or, it might spurs us on to write a brand new tutorial. 


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