This month we’re going to try something different.
Ordinarily for Wine School, I select a particular sort of wine and recommend a few bottles to drink. Instead, I’m going to assign a food, roast chicken. Your job is pick the wines to drink with it.
More specifically, choose one, two or three different wines to try with the chicken. Compare and contrast the combinations, and let me know what you think.
The idea this time around is simply to think about pairing wines with foods, determining what you like best and why, considering the relevancy of specific pairings and having a conversation about the whole issue, all while eating and drinking really well, because what can be better than roast chicken and a good wine?
And if you are not eating meat for whatever reason, how about an onion tart from the chef Deborah Madison or a vegan chili with winter vegetables? You might end up with a different set of wines, but the exercise remains the same.
You could pick a white, red, rosé, sparkling or fortified wine, whatever you like. It could be something we’ve examined over the last six years, or a wine we have not talked about at all.
Spoiler alert: It’s really hard to pick a wine that does not go well with roast chicken. It’s incredibly welcoming, with small variations depending on garnishes, flavorings and so on. The fussy matching of nuances and specific flavorings is not necessary. It’s a matter of personal taste.
Even so, this is a chance to have some fun. Go wild with your selections, or pick a comfortable old favorite. Mix it up. Choose one that you are pretty sure you will like, and another that you have your doubts about. Discuss it with friends or a wine merchant. Go it alone.
You could cook the bird yourself, or get a takeout rotisserie chicken. It’s up to you.
If you would like to cook, we have some great recipes at NYT Cooking. I particularly like Melissa Clark’s splayed chicken (just substitute onions for ramps if they are not yet available), but why stop there? I asked my colleagues for some suggestions, and here they are.
