Food & Wines
Chicken
Recipes
Grilled Chicken
Pairing wine with grilled chicken should be easy. All you really have to do is make sure that your flavor profiles and strengths are similar enough that one will not over-power the other. Essentially, there are two ways most people tend to grill their chicken: Either with a simple marinade or slathered in barbecue sauce. As for the first option, I like how New World Chardonnay tends to bring out the sweetness in the chicken meat. Also, a nice, dry rose is perfect here: It’s acidity pairs well with many marinades, yet it also has enough heft to stand up to the richer flavors imparted by the grilling. For the second, barbecue-slathered option, zinfandel is excellent, as is Australian shiraz, especially if your barbecue sauce is a store-bought brand, which tends to be a bit on the sweeter side. If, however, you make your own, you have a bit more leeway in terms of pairing. Try pinot noir for earthier ones, Beaujolais for more livelier ones, or, again, rosè for something completely unexpected.
Recipes
Suggested Wines
Fried Chicken
Fried chicken and wine, paradoxically, can be excellent. However, it can also be terrible. So it's important that you pair your wine carefully here. There's not much gray area to work with. Because of the richness of the oil and fried crust on the chicken, you'll need a wine that will cut through it. A rustic wine from France's Languedoc region would be excellent, as would a lively Beaujolais. However, for a real show-stopper, try a brut Champagne: The acidity and bubbles will cut right through the oil and grease and bring the chicken to life in a way you may never have thought possible.
Recipes
Suggested Wines
BBQ Chicken
Not chicken cooked on the grill, but barbecue-sauce-slathered chicken. The kind that reminds you of summer, cook-outs, and beer. Except, of course, wine goes just as well with it as your favorite can of suds. Better, in fact. Just try these pairings on for size.