wine with chicken?

[ceejay1117]

My friend is having a dinner party I am bringing the wine ,she will be sevring chicken breast stuffed with crab. What wine should I bring?

[Innkeeper]

Would go for a Lower Burgundy Chardonnay such as Saint Veran. They range in price from $10 - $20. Consult your local merchant.

[mrdutton]

I was going to start you with a nice chardonnay from Chablis and then suggest as some alternatives either a French Viognier or a German Riesling Spatlese. I have some minor experience with the Chablis and the Viognier but none with the Riesling.

I think the key here is with the crab and not the chicken.

But never-the-less, Innkeeper's point is salient. Consult with your local wine merchant.

[This message has been edited by mrdutton (edited 03-21-2000).]

[Scoop]

A refreshing Albarino (the "n" in Albarino should have a ~) from Spain (Rias Baixas) would be an interesting accompaniment. They are dry with bracing acidity and great tropical fruit notes, good with both chicken and seafood.

Scoop

[Randy Caparoso]

As pointed out, chicken in itself is a wine-flexible dish; but the key to this particular match is the crabmeat, which has faintly sweet/minerally/saline taste. Higher alcohol white wines -- such as Viognier and Napa or Sonoma Chardonnays -- tend to be exacerbated by dishes with crab; the wines ending up tasting hot and/or harsh, and the food puny. Therefore, easier matches would be lighter, crisper, dry or off-dry whites.

Dry style Riesling is indeed ideal; particular "Halbtrocken" styles from Germany, certain dependable California brands (Trefethen and Bonny Doon, for starters), and some from Down Under (Leeuwin Estate from Australia, and Villa Maria from N.Z.). Lighter style Chardonnays from France are also ideal -- authentic Chablis, Macon-Villages, and even Pouilly-Fuisse, which all have the easy structure plus minerally taste the match easily with the crab.

I also dig the Albarino suggestion. My favorite brands are the Morgadio and Lusco, which are very fine and zesty.

If you like American style Chardonnays, all is not lost. Wineries like Waterbrook from Washington St., for instance, make lovely, medium weight, minerally nuanced styles; and from Santa Barbara, there are a number of good, solid brands which make a style of Chardonnay that are much crisper and intrinsically well balanced than that of the North Coast of California.

[This message has been edited by Randy Caparoso (edited 03-22-2000).]

[Thomas]

The Albarino is a great suggestion, and Randy's Waterbrook Chardonnay is also a great suggestion. I would go with those, and if they are unavailable Macon should be available almost anywhere.

[mrdutton]

I certainly would not want to drink any of the over-oaked chardonnay or viognier from California with my crab meat, nor would I recommend it to anyone else.

Most of the premier cru Chablis I've drunk have been right around 12 to 13% Alcohol. That also goes with the Pouilly-Fuisse (which has been a family favorite for 4 generations). As I understand it, French viognier runs from 12 to 13% alcohol although I have seen some California stuff in the ridiculously high range of 14 to 14.5% alcohol.

As I understand it Riesling Spatlese (either Trocken or Halbtrocken) runs right around 10% which helps make it light and crisp. But I can't speak about them directly as I've little experience with them.

[Blinded]

I'm surprised that nobody mentioned Sauvignon Blanc, perhaps from N.Z., S.A., or what ever you like (on the lighter side), something crisp. -blindguy

[hotwine]

I cast my vote firmly in favor of Riesling. We've had chicken in one form or another each evening this week, and a Mosel Spatlese was the right wine each time.
(Now it's time for beef and Bordeaux!)