Playing chicken

Wines to win the pullet surprise

by Thor Iverson

UNCORKED

How many times have you heard the phrase "tastes like chicken?" Have you ever wondered, "Hey, what does chicken taste like, anyway?" Well, okay, maybe it's just me. But the truth is that chicken really doesn't taste like much. Oh sure, there's a pretty big difference between the chewy cardboard taste of a certain popular supermarket brand and the juicy succulence of a free-range chicken or a poulet de Bresse. But when compared to venison, anchovies, Vidalia onions, and other flavorful foodstuffs, chicken is a pretty bland bird.

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Chicken's status as America's most popular meat means that we all eat a lot of this tasteless fowl. But there's an upside for wine lovers. The lack of a strong inherent taste lets chicken take flight (forget for a moment that chickens are incapable of flight) with the full spectrum of the world's wines. With the possible exception of pork, there's no more versatile wine food in the world. The key -- the whole key -- is the preparation.

It drives me nuts when I hear hackneyed wine/food recommendations such as "chardonnay goes with chicken." Chicken prepared how? Skinless chicken breasts dusted with herbs? Fried? Grilled with Cajun spices? Sliced and stir-fried in wasabi and ginger? The fact is, most chardonnays are an extraordinarily bad choice for all but one of these preparations (fried).

The point, which chicken illustrates very well, is that sometimes the main ingredient in a dish is the least important when it comes to choosing a wine.

For example, let's look at the most basic chicken recipe: a whole roasted bird. Unless it's over- or undercooked, the meat should be fairly juicy with a light poultry flavor, and the skin should have a slightly fatty texture. There's probably a little salt and pepper on that skin as well. This is a bird with a subtle flavor, one that shouldn't be clubbed to death by an aggressive wine. Try a simple pinot blanc (1997 Paul Blanck Pinot Blanc, $12), pinot grigio (1997 Concilo Pinot Grigio "Contessa Manci Vineyard," $12), or Spanish white (1997 Godeval Valdeorras, $17).

Now let's add some flavor. Maybe there's a rich, thick gravy, in which case you're adding fat. Thus, your wine choices are threefold: meet the fat head-on with a "fat" wine that retains some subtlety (1997 Palazzone Dubini Bianco, $7), cut through it with an acidic, light red (1996 Kermit Lynch Beaujolais Unfiltered, $8.99), or cancel it out with a simple, lightly tannic red (1996 Château Valrose Bordeaux Supérieur, $10). Yes, that's right, red wine . . . but light red wine that doesn't bury the bird in a burst of berries.

A sweet citrus glaze is pretty common for poultry, and as we've discussed in this space before, sweetness in food and sweetness in wine are a great match. Off-dry German whites are the best choice here; try the 1997 von Hövel Oberemmeler Hütte Riesling Spätlese ($18), the 1997 Basserman-Jordan Forster Jesuitengarten Riesling Spätlese ($25), or the 1997 Gunderloch Nackenheimer Rothenberg Riesling Spätlese ($27). Or the flavor might come from a savory stuffing. Here, you want wines that reflect the earthy qualities of the bread, herbs, mushrooms, or whatever is in that stuffing. This is where the great grapes of Burgundy, chardonnay (1997 Steele Chardonnay Steele Cuvée, $22, or 1997 Bouchard Père et Fils Pouilly-Fuissé, $24), and pinot noir (1996 Te Kairanga Pinot Noir Reserve Martinborough, $28, or 1997 Jadot Beaune Theurons Domaine des Héritiers, $38) can fight it out for hen hegemony.

If you haven't mastered Grandma's roasting technique (or Grandpa's chain-saw-murderer carving technique), you probably tend to cook chicken in pieces, rather than whole. And the most popular piece -- the boneless, skinless chicken breast -- is a blank canvas ready for painting with just about any ingredient you have on hand. The simple herb-sprinkled dish I mentioned before needs an herbal wine such as sauvignon blanc (1996 Bailly-Reverdy Sancerre Chavignol, $15, or 1997 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough, $17). Add some vegetables to a non-spicy stir-fry, and the slightly vegetal qualities of white Bordeaux (1996 Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion, $22) work very well. Start throwing in dairy products such as cheese or cream, and some acidity is necessary to cut through the fat. Chardonnay with good acidity will really shine here (1998 Nobilo Chardonnay Gisbourne, $10, or 1997 d'Arenberg Chardonnay "The Olive Grove," $14), as will flavorful Alsace riesling (1993 Schleret Riesling Herrenweg, $19). Real heat, as from peppers and such, can overcome most wines; the only remedies are residual sugar, as in many New and Old World pinot gris (1996 King Estate Pinot Gris Reserve, $19, or 1995 Burn Tokay-Pinot Gris Goldert "Clos Saint Imer," $27).

Then there's grilling and other char-inducing techniques. The extreme flavor that results from the caramelization of the chicken's surface needs an assertive white wine, such as the 1998 Pierre Amadieu Côtes-du-Rhône Domaine Grand Romane Blanc ($12) or the 1998 Max Aubert Châteauneuf-du-Pape "La Nonciature" Blanc ($35), or an equally assertive but non-tannic red (1997 Rosenblum Zinfandel Richard Sauret Vineyard, $19). Moderately spicy glazes and rubs pair well with gewürztraminer (1998 Fitz-Ritter Duerkheimer Nonnengarten Gewürztraminer Spätlese, $11, or 1993 Pierre Sparr Gewurztraminer Mambourg, $21). Barbecued chicken of any kind pretty much needs a big zin (1995 Renwood Zinfandel Jack Rabbit Flat Fox Creek Vineyard, $25).

As you can see, matching indifferent food like chicken with wine is a snap. All you need to do is peck away at the ingredient list. There is, however, one fowl preparation for which we have yet to find a match: McNuggets.

Thor Iverson can be reached at wine[a]phx.com.

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