I pay a lot of attention to food and wine matches, and have pretty strong instincts that I think normally serve me pretty well.
But I’m not sure what to bring to friends’ tonight who are serving chicken tajin with olives and preserved lemons. I assume this will include bulgur or chickpeas.
Instincts:
- I will avoid high acid or tannic wines.
- I’m inclined toward something relatively fruity.
I was thinking of:
- A very slightly off-dry riesling – maybe from the Finger Lakes because those wines tend not be too tart.
- For a red, perhaps a Cotes du Rhone.
Thoughts?
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Sherry or a Savagnin or a Furmint from Hungary
A denser rosé would be my choice. Not Provencal style, that’s too light and possibly too acid-driven. Something with more body and juicy fruit.
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Preserved Lemon is tricky, for white I would try Lugana and for red maybe Frappato
I’d go white. If you’re going dry, maybe a Sauvigon Blanc with some body to it (thinking Cotat). Not a white Rhône fan but some could work. A dry Jurançon maybe?
But I think an off-dry choice might be the safest: Vouvray?
Funny enough, I had some young LrA Ardanza with a similar dish and loved the pairing!
Cotes Du Rhone like you mentioned should work great and I’d think a less funky Ribiera Sacra could work really well (depending on what you have on hand or what is reasonably close to you).
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I don’t find this recipe super tricky, as once cooked, the flavors soften and meld a bit - I wouldn’t freak out, honestly.
This is great. It seems we’re all headed in the same direction.
I, too, had thought of white with some body. I like Ribiera Sacra and I can see the Ardanza working, too, for reds.
Today, I’m out in the country, so my choices are limited to my cellar, but you’ve confirmed my gut instincts about the principle here – not too much acidity, some body and some fruit.
Musar Blanc, LdH Blanco (either vineyard), Simone Blanc, all with some age?
I’m admittedly no expert but that’s where my mind goes first.
White Rhones, either with some fat (South) or age (North), or white Rioja with some age like Lopez de Heredia.
Thanks,
Zachary
Quality Cotes du Rhone white, e.g Jamet
I have a bottle or two of old LdH bianco, but this isn’t a wine geek crowd, so I doubt they’d enjoy that.
I might run by my local wine store, but it’s run by a Brooklyn migrant hipster and everything is high acid. Full-bodied, lowish-acid wines are unwelcome there.
There aren’t many times I wish I had white Rhones in my cellar.
Grenache Blanc and Dolcetto or Frapatto would be my choices.
Musar Blanc
LdH white (any old-school Viura with some age, quite frankly)
… or something along these lines.
Although I love olives, I tend to find they clash with red wines, although I could imagine an old-school Rioja working.
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I like the idea of going to Spain and getting a Rose, Blanco, or a younger Crianza for a red.
I’m with @ToddFrench. This is a regular rotation dinner at our house and has been for years. I’ve thrown all sorts of wines at it, red, white and rosé, with mostly success. I would avoid really lacey, subtle wines or big brawny wines or wines that are tannin forward.
Bongran Viré-Clessé has been a particular favorite (but that’s a general house rule).
I actually have found it to do really well with what would have been called hipster wines 20 years ago. I can’t vouch for where the needle is now.
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So many thought-provoking suggestions, so few of which are in my cellar.
I may go with a Kumea NZ chardonnay and a Charvin CdR. If I can find time to hit the wine store (unlikely), I’ll try to find a more full-bodied white.
As I said, this is not a geeky crowd.
I was going to suggest Charvin CdP from a non-solar year, say 2004, 2008, or 2011.