When people come into the wine store I work at around this time of year, more often than not they’re looking for something crisp, white, and refreshing. Maybe they don’t know what they’re in the mood for beyond that. Maybe it’s a group divided between Sauvignon Blanc drinkers and Chardonnay drinkers, not knowing how to split the difference. Maybe they’re not quite sure what they’ll be eating with it, but they know they want a white wine. Chances are that if you come ask me for a recommendation, I’ll offer up a bottle of Albariño as an option.

It happens to be among my personal favorite summertime grapes. Albariño also fits so many different scenarios. It’s sooooooo refreshing on its own as a “porch sipper,” but most versions also work well with a wide variety of foods. It’s naturally high in acidity, which is typically balanced by a plump peachiness, complemented by lots of saline minerality.  Thanks to that bit of body up front that’s backed up by a minerally finish, I find that Albariños tend to please a lot of different palates. It will also entice your nose to the glass, as it’s pretty aromatic with lots of stone fruit notes, citrus, honeysuckle, and stones. You can bet this grape is perfect complement to seafood, but really with so much more as well.

The grape hails from the north west Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula and is a key player in the wines of Rías Baixas in Spain and Vinho Verde in Portugal. It’s unclear in which of these two areas it originated, but they’re in the same neighborhood. Albariño’s Spainish home of Rías Baixas is very different from most of the rest of the country. Right on the Atlantic coast, it’s much cooler, wetter, foggier, and greener than most of the rest of the county. Luckily, Albariño, the region’s signature grape (it must make up 70% of the blend) does well here thanks to its thick skin, which helps it stand up to all the humidity. The cooling ocean influences also help the grapes retain the crisp, mouth-watering acidity that’s emblematic of the regional style.

Map of Rías Baixas and its sub-zones courtesy of Rías Baixas Wines.

   
The region and the grape are probably best known for making a crisp, refreshing light wines, but it can definitely be made in fuller styles as well. It can be matured in oak, and is increasingly aged for several years in stainless steel tanks before release. Lees aging can also add texture and richness. It can age when given the chance, but it’s just so tasty when young that it’s hard to make a convincing argument for waiting.

Galicia is steeped with history. Winemaking in the region dates back about 2,000 years, but it’s better known as the final stop on the Camino de Santiago. The 500-mile Christian pilgrimage ends at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, where the remains of St. James are buried. The area has only become known for wine in more recent years as it received its Denomination of Origin status in 1988 following Spain’s entrance into the European Union.

If there is one downside to this grape it’s that the secret is out on Albariño. Rías Baixas has become increasingly popular in its short time span as a D.O. Sadly for the consumer, this has also caused prices to rise. Not to worry though! There are still plenty of delicious and wallet friendly versions to be found! Additionally, its popularity has given rise to interest in the grape in many New World regions as well.

THE PAIRING

 I happily received a couple of samples of Albariño from Rías Baixas in time for the celebration of International Albariño Days, August 1-5, 2018 from Gregory White PR and Rías Baixas Wines. Thanks guys! (Please note that while samples were received for participation in the event, all opinions are my own and no other compensation was received.)


I decided to open a bottle of Adegas Gran Vinum Nessa Albariño Rías Baixas 2016 one evening right smack in the middle of Albariño days. The Piñeiro Cores family are the makers of this wine. They’ve been involved in making wines for many generations, however, getting their vineyards in top shape to make their wines took some time. They first brought together fragmented vineyard plots, then they slowly went about replacing the hybrid varieties originally on the land with Albariño. They finally launched Adegas Gran Vinum in 2002.


Their holdings include 8 acres of vineyards, which they supplement with grapes from other local growers with whom they have close relationships. The vineyards are fertilized with clam and cockle shells and are carefully tended. To keep the vines from getting too soggy in the region’s extremely wet conditions, the Galician tradition is to use long stone posts to elevate the vines off the ground–which has the added benefit of looking quite pretty!

The wine has a really pleasant tang. Greg and I picked up the characteristic peachiness on nose, along with a bit of brine, white flowers, and a faint touch of earthiness in the vein of fresh hay. The fruit on the palate became a little more tropical with crisp pineapple, tangerine white peach and a squirt of lemon. There were also some savory herbs in the mix–nori that blended in with the sea breezy briny quality. The wine had bright, high acidity, and the wine’s body was on the lighter end of medium. 

  
I had a hankering for fish and chips, and I thought this wine would be delicious with fried seafood. What resulted was a spin with light Spanish and Japanese touches. Cod fillets were battered in tempura spiked with smoked paprika. Rather than fries, I decided to roast baby potatoes in varied colors that also got a touch of paprika. These all went on a simple salad with quick pickled red onions that brought in a perky kick. 


To tease out that faint nori note, I sprinkled on some furikake – a Japanese seasoning that includes seaweed flakes and sesame seeds. Some friends introduced me to furikake a few years ago and it has been a staple in our pantry ever since. Variations can include a breadth of additional flavorings like yuzu or bonito. If I hadn’t had the furikake on hand, I would have brought in some capers for their briny/floral notes. 

Furikake is great on seafood, rice, and on eggs in the morning.

Not strictly speaking a part of the recipe, but we also ended up trying this Little Red Corvette red pepper and black garlic goat cheese spread from Cypress Grove, and it made a really nice, creamy addition.  

Samples work! I got a taste of this at my local Whole Foods and I couldn't resist buying one. It made a tasty add-on.





THE GEEKY DETAILS

From the tech sheet:

Albarino wine Nessa is produced with selected Albarino grapes from our growers who use our traditional growth techniques and the vineyards are older than 25 years old. After a manual harvest, the grapes are specially selected and a soft pressing takes place before filtering them for 24 to 36 hours and followed by fermentation at 46ºF.

Harvest:    Manual

Details:    12.5%, 3.44 pH, 6.60 g/L acid

Optimal consumption: 3-4 years

Recommended temperature: 51°-53°F/11°-12°C




MONEY TALK

At a SRP of $17, this makes a great House Wine. Find on here wine-searcher.com .



OTHER POSSIBILITIES

I made more cod tempura than we needed for one dinner for the two of us. The next day I used the leftover fish on a second salad for lunch. I re-crisped up the fish in the toaster oven. This time I added avocado, crispy onions, and salsa verde, which all also worked quite well.  The Vionta Albariño Rías Baixas 2016 (also a sample, SRP $16, or find on wine-sercher.com) tended more to the minerally end of the spectrum. It was citrus driven, crisp and refreshing with some added leesy texture.



For other wine options, I’d recommend Vinho Verde from Portugal or Txakolina from Spain’s Basque region for alternatives with similar attributes. Muscadet and Chablis would also bring notes of briny minerality and crisp acidity. 



 
Here are some other Albariños I’ve liked recently:


For more pairing ideas of Rías Baixas, click here, or check out these other recipes I’ve created that match with Albariño:

8 & 20: Smoky Paprika Shrimp With Saffron-Lemon Pilaf – One of my favorite 8 & 20’s that I’ve made!
8 & 20: Saffron-Tomato Chicken Croquetas
8 & 20: Roasted Stuffed Fish with Sautéed Spinach

Provence is the land of lavender, the Cannes film festival, and ROSÉ. This really is France’s premiere region for pink the stuff. Nobody else puts a spotlight on it in quite the same way. Afterall, it suits the climate and the lifestyle so well. Located on the French Riviera, this is a tourist center for it’s gorgeous beaches. Combine that with that little film festival and a certain bicycle race that tours through here, and you can see that there’s a ready public looking for refreshment.

My friend Molly Sherman has been studying and traveling in Provence. She sent me this pic of the lavender fields

The region’s style is quite dry, often with hints of herbs, flowers, and lots of minerality with a pale pink, coral color. If you’re the type that worries about rosés being too fruity, this is a good go-to region for you. The wines pair easily with a wide variety of foods. Like, I said, Provence really makes rosé their calling card. They even have a Center for Rosé Research.

Located in the southeastern corner of France, it enjoys a mild, Mediterranean climate, with warm days and cool nights. It gets an average 3,000 hours of sunshine a year, and less than 700 mm/27 inches annual rainfall, most of which is concentrated in the spring and fall. In general, it’s pretty freak’n ideal for for growing grapes. The only real caveat is the notorious Mistral, the wind that blows through southern France. This wind can have the pesky habit of wreaking havoc on vineyards when it’s really strong. The silver lining is that it helps to reduce the risk of fungal diseases, which all combined makes Provence pretty suitable for sustainable farming practices.

Map courtesy of Wine Folly.

Wine has been made here for over 2600 years, making Provence the oldest wine producing region of France. It’s bordered by the Rhône River to the west and the Côte d’Azur on the east. It has a diverse geography with several mountain ranges and rolling hills. There are a variety of soils including lots of limestone in the west, and schist (granite) in the east, along with a small area of volcanic soils.

Bandol and Cassis in the west are two of the more famous AOC’s of the region. The two big regional appellations are Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence in the west, and Côtes de Provence which encompasses pretty much the eastern half of region. The vast majority of the rosé comes out of this area and you can find lovely, thirst quenching pink wines at every price point. While quality and complexity of the wines certainly varies, I haven’t come across many flat out bad bottles. Boring perhaps, but not offensive. On the flipside, the majority of the the most interesting, complex, and even ageworthy rosés I’ve tasted come out of the Provence. (Yes, indeed, certain rosés can age!)

“Garrigue” is an important feature of the area as well. Wild, often aromatic, resinous shrubs like rosemary, juniper, thyme, and all that lavender, grow almost everywhere and it often comes out in the flavor in wine. I was not aware, but apparently there’s a distinction depending on what soil the shrubs are growing on. It’s Garrigue” if it’s grown on limestone/clay, or ‘Maquis” when growing on crystalline schist.

This area has been slow to modernize, but there have been shifts, particularly in what grapes are being grown. Some of the more traditional grapes are being replaced by more commercial popular varieties. That said there is an assortment here, much like in neighboring Rhône, and many of the grapes are quite similar. The grapes here are similar to those in the neighboring Rhône with some variations. Here are some of those you might find:

 

THE PAIRING

This month the French Winophiles are exploring French rosés and a set of samples was sent by Teuwen Communications for participation in event. I received 3 bottles, no other compensation was received and all thoughts are my own.



The three bottles were all just lovely. I’ve seen some works of beautifully packaged bottles coming out of this region and all of these fall right in line. I fully admit that I grabbed the Ultimate Provence Urban Rosé Côtes de Provence 2017 because the bottle was just so pretty. The etched glass of this bottle really stood out even. Yup, I went for the packaging. (I do believe I’ll be keeping this bottle to use as a vase. I’ll be covering the other two wines very soon.)  



Ulitpmate Provence's 100-acre estate is located about 30 minutes from Saint-Tropez, near the village of La Garde-Freinet. It has been recently renovated and so far focuses on this one wine. The property is bordered by oak forests. Oak leaves, along with vine stalks, are used to make a natural compost for the vineyards. Concerts and movie screenings are hosted on the property, there are artists in residence, and a restaurant on the property. It seems like it would be a most luxurious stop if you’re ever in the area.

Winemaker, Alexis Cornu, worked in Bordeaux as the winemaker for Michel Roland's personal estate, Château Fontenil, as well as André Lurton’s Maison Ginestet and in Australia for Rosemount Estates. He’s been based in Provence for the last 15 years, where he headed up wine making at Château de Pibarnon in Bandol and at Ortas Caves de Rasteau in Southern Rhône.

Greg and I found this wine to be quite delicate with a light perfume of white flowers, faint cherries, and lots of citrus. As the wine warmed up, it became more effusive with white peach notes joining the party as the rest of the aromas opened up and intensified.

It was light in body with touch of rounded creaminess to the mouthfeel. The wine was also really crisp with river stone minerality. Fruit notes on the palate of underripe strawberries, white peaches, and pink grapefruit, light herbs, and brisk, medium +, acidity balanced the minerality.

To me, this is a wine that begs for simple, fresh flavors. I think it would be fantastic with most seafood, but on this evening I had chicken breasts and eggplant on hand that needed to be used. I thought it would easy enough to tailor them to the wine. The eggplant called to mind ratatouille, which is Provençal in origin, but I wasn’t feeling up to the project on that particular evening. I opted instead for an eggplant-led sheet pan that I could just roast in the oven without a lot of fuss. Given the wine’s minerality and brightness, we thought it might be able to handle some artichokes, which can sometimes be tricky to pair. I used a jarred, marinated version for ease. Lemons, cherry tomatoes, and a mix of herbs completed the pan.

The mix of flavorings.

If you follow this blog, you probably know I love my Anova Precision Cooker circulator. Cooking food sous vide takes away so much of the guesswork and stress. It think it is MOST useful for foods that are easy to overcook like pork tenderloin and chicken breasts. Chicken breasts really can be soooooooo boring, and they’re often tough on top of that. When they’re prepare sous vide though, you can pretty much ensure they come out juicy and silky. I’ll make them in a batch so that I leftovers to use in salads, sandwiches, and wraps for lunch throughout the week. The flavoring in this batch mirrored those on the vegetables, with a bit of mustard added for an extra kick.



 
Everything worked beautifully together. The eggplant and artichokes worked particularly well with the wine when sampled together, as they balanced each other out in both flavor and texture. I garnished the dish with fresh basil as well, which really complemented the the wine in a pretty way. Altogether, this made for an elegant, easy and delicious summer meal.

 

THE GEEKY DETAILS

From the tech sheet.

Terroir: The vineyard is characterised by shallow soil, laid on a waterproof subsoil sandstone slab. This excellent terroir is nourished with a natural compost of oak leaves and vine stalks.
Winemaking: After harvest, the grapes undergo cold soak maceration for 2 to 3 hours, to produce the pale pink color for which Provence is world-famous. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks for 2 to 3 weeks before bottling.
Grapes: Grenache Noir (45%) Cinsault (35%) Syrah (15%) Rolle (5%)
Winemaker: Alexis Cornu

Sugar: < 1.5 g/L

pH: approx 3,4

Alcohol: 12.5%
SRP: $22.99 (sample)

 

MONEY TALK

At $22.99 I think this is a solid buy. And hey, you might even get a new flower vase out of the deal.

 

OTHER POSSIBILITIES

The producers suggest that this wine can be enjoyed “on its own or serve with a charcuterie spread, grilled shrimp kebabs or a light, fresh fruit tart.” I personally think it might too dry for a fruit tart, but other than that, this wine should be pretty versatile. Like I mentioned, I thought it would be lovely with seafood.

A few days later I tried leftovers of the food with another Provençal rosé from Château Lauzade Côtes de Provence Rosé 2017 and it was also lovely.

 

Herbed Sous Vide Chicken Breasts and Roasted Eggplant Sheet Pan with Artichokes and Tomatoes

 

Herbed Sous Vide Chicken Breasts

This is a non-recipe since exact amounts aren’t required. I filled two sous vide bags with 3 chicken breasts each, which made plenty of leftovers to have extras throughout the week. Once sliced, I find 3 chicken breasts makes about 4 portions. 

You can certainly make the chicken breasts with the same flavoring but cooked through more convention methods like a the grill, pan searing, or oven as well.

 

INGREDIENTS

Chicken breasts
Mustard (I used Maile’s Roasted Onion and Wild Thyme Mustard), about 1 T per bag
Salt
Pepper
Dried Sage
Dried Oregano
Dried Rosemary
Garlic Powder
Butter, 1 T per bag
Lemon slices

 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Fill a pot or other larger vessel with water and set circulator to desired temperature—I like 140-145°F for chicken that is soft and juicy . (See this useful guide for other options.)

2. Rub a bit of mustard on each chicken breast. Place the chicken in heavy-duty plastic bags, about 3 per bag. Add additional mustard along with a generous pinch of each of the herbs in the bag and toss to coat. Place 1 Tbsp butter and a lemon slice in each bag. Seal the bag using a vacuum sealer or via the water displacement method if using a ziplock freezer bag.

Note: To use the water displacement method, zip up the majority of the bag leaving just an inch or open at the end. Lower the bag into the water—as you do so, the water on the outside of the bag will push out the remaining air in the bag. Once the bag is lowered the majority of the way into the water, zip up the remainder of the bag.

3. Cook the chicken in the water bath for two hours.

4. When the chicken is ready, remove from the bag and pat dry with paper towels. (Save the juices in the bag to serve with chicken if desired.) Heat a skillet with a little oil over medium-high heat. Finish the chicken by searing in the pan for 1 to 2 minutes per side or just until nicely browned.

5. Slice the chicken and serve with jus (if desired) over the eggplant and vegetables.

 

Roasted Eggplant Sheet Pan with Artichokes and Cherry Tomatoes

Don’t get too caught up on quantities here either. Put the eggplant in the oven when the chicken has about 35-40 minutes left in the circulator.

INGREDIENTS

1 large eggplant, sliced
Salt
Olive oil
Pepper
Dried Sage
Dried Oregano
Dried Rosemary
1 ½ lemons, cut into slices
Marinated artichokes, about 6 oz (½ of a 12 oz jar)
Cherry tomatoes, about 1 cup
3 or 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Crumbled feta, for garnish
Basil, chiffonade, for garnish

 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Generously salt the eggplant. Place the eggplant slices in a colander or strainer covered with the salt. Set the colander over a bowl and let the eggplant sit for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

3. Rinse the salt off the eggplant and pat dry. Place the eggplant in a greased roasting pan. Drizzle the eggplant slices with olive oil to coat. Sprinkle with a generous pinch of pepper and each of the herbs. Put the eggplant in the oven for 20 minutes.

4. After 20 minutes, flip the eggplant slices, add the lemon slices, and put the pan back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Then add the artichokes, the cherry tomatoes (quickly prick each of the tomatoes with a knife), and the garlic slices. Put the pan back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes, or until the veggies are all warmed through and the garlic is tender.

5. Serve the eggplant with the chicken sliced on top and garnish with feta and basil if using.

Photo credit on all of the food pictures to Greg Hudson.

•  Payal from Keep the Peas gives us Rosé: The Original Red Wine. 

• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm tempts us with Soupe au Pistou Paired with Rosé.

• Liz from What’s In That Bottle advises us to Live a More Rosé Life.

• Martin from Enofylz Wine Blog discusses The Pleasures of Provençal Rosé #Winophiles. 

• Julia from JuliaConey.com talks about Rosé: Not from Provence but Just as Delicious!

 Additional Sources used for this post:

Wine Folly

While I lived in New York, my girlfriends and I had a tradition of heading out for a tasting day in Long Island at least once a year at some point between spring and fall. Sometimes our guys would come, sometimes we’d keep to just the gals. Often we'd add on extra stops along the way. It was always a lovely day trip. 

Stops at Briermere Farms (anytime)  and/or at one of the many orchards in the area for apple picking (in the fall), are favorite detours on a Long Island wine tasting day.

Long Island wine tasting always made a wonderful and much needed escape from the city. However, I’ve gotta admit that I have mixed feelings about the wine, as I’ve found the quality to be inconsistent. I think there are a number of factors contributing to this. First of all, it’s a younger wine region. The first vineyards were planted in 1973, which means they’ve just had less time to work out the kinks. This is also a region with considerable vintage variation, so they’re likely to have more weather curveballs coming their way. The the climate has been compared to Bordeaux’s as it’s maritime and on a similar latitude.

Beyond these understandable hurdles, more than one winery I’ve stopped in at has struck me as a vanity projects where someone wanted a pretty vineyard and tasting room to show off, but didn’t really have the know-how to deliver the quality. (Admittedly, these types of places exist everywhere.) They also have a somewhat captive audience for part of the year via Hamptons vacationers that will buy their wines, even if they’re being upcharged (or so it seems to me).

Map borrowed from Long Island Uncorked.

  
I’m sure I’ve now succeeded in making you completely unenthusiastic about this region. However, it seems to me that quality in the region is on an upward swing overall. It does have a lot going for it. The upside of the region’s proximity to the Atlantic is that the ocean helps to moderate temperatures. The area also sees a good amount of sunshine to help grapes ripen. The area's sandy soils, with deposits of clay and gravel, are nicely free-draining which puts a check on the vigor of the vines, contributing potential for quality grapes. They’ve been figuring out what works–Merlot, Cab Franc, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc are generally recognized as showing a lot of promise.

A really awesome aspect to the region is that small, family-run operations tend to be the norm, and there’s a solid handful of truly quality conscious producers. Searching out the cream of the crop is definitely worthwhile. Macari Vineyards is one of those spots for me. It’s a full-on family affair. Joseph and Alexandra Macari moved to the North Fork of Long Island in 1995 with their four children to begin planting vines. Joseph’s father, Joseph Sr., had purchased the then 500-acre former potato farm in the mid 60’s. Joseph Jr. went on to study biodynamic viticulture and takes a ecological and holistic approach to viticulture. Meanwhile, Alexandra Macari has been the Managing Director of Macari Vineyards for over twenty years. Their son Joseph worked extensively alongside his father in the vineyards and has been Vineyard Manager since 2011. Gabriella Macari currently manages education, distribution, marketing, and assists in the cellar and in the vineyard. Macri’s winemaker Kelly Koch brings a little extra lady-power to the operation. 


I crossed paths with Gabriella a bit in NY while we were each working on our WSET Diplomas. She always struck me as one cool gal. She’s going on to tackle the Master of Wine and I’m sure she will be awesome. 

Macari's rosé is lovely on a summer day.

 

THE PAIRING

Gabriella graciously arranged for a tasting for me and my friends during our yearly group outing during our last summer in New York. It proved to be a resounding favorite. On that visit, I took home a bottle of their Macari Vineyards No.1 Sauvignon Blanc North Fork of Long Island 2013, which was fermented and aged in concrete eggs. (I believe this now goes under the name Lifeforce, $28.) Their super crisp and refreshing, stainless steel Sauv Blanc was the group favorite, but I was intrigued by the added textural elements the concrete brought to the variety. More than that, I took home this bottling because I got a clear image right then of exactly what I wanted to have with this wine–a springy risotto.

The next spring, now established in Oakland, Greg and I opened this bottle as a little reminder of fun times in New York. Moreover, at this point Somms Table was in development but not yet live, so I decided to make the risotto I’d envisioned for this wine with the intent to eventually post it. I just never got around to it until now. This month the Wine Pairing Weekend Crew is exploring wines from under the radar U.S. regions, giving me the perfect opportunity to finally share this pairing. (Scroll down to see the rest of their contributions.)

On the day we opened this wine, Greg and I picked up notes of white peach and melon alongside more typical Sauvignon Blanc notes of lemon and lime, including a bit of candied lemon zest and lemon cream, and fresh, sweet snap peas on the nose. There was also a touch of hay and cheese rind. On the palate, it was savory and bright with the notes of citrus, white peaches, green herbs, and hay continuing on in the flavor profile. There was a touch of honeysuckle to add a light floral element. There was a steely, stony minerality  at the core, fleshed out by added texture that rounded out the body.

The idea of a risotto continued to resonate, so we went on with that plan. I decided to make a lemony pea risotto–a pretty classic combo–and I knew I wanted to add a strong herbal component, but was undecided as to which way I wanted to go. I was curious what herb would best work with this specific wine, so we decided to conduct an experiment. Greg and I went through and tasted a line up of different herbs alongside the wine to see what worked. Our two favorites were mint and sage. Mint was refreshing and seemed perfect for warm weather, so that's what we chose for this dish. Sage brought out the earthy side of the wine and I think it would be ideal for fall. The runners up were basil and oregano, similarly taking the dish in  spring/summer and autumnal directions respectively. The nice thing is that since the ingredients for this dish are available year-round (taking into account frozen peas), you can easily adjust the dish to your seasonal tastes.

  
I thought the creamy, silky texture of scallop would be the perfect thing to top off the risotto and complement the wine. They did just that! The whole thing worked beautifully and complemented the wine just as well as I’d hoped. Creamy, fresh, and decadent!


As mentioned, this specific cuvée is no longer available. See Macari's website for info on the Lifeforce, which seems to be the new name for this wine.

OTHER POSSIBILITIES

I think the extra texture on this wine would allow it to pair nicely with weightier foods than one might typically think of for Sauv Blanc. 

For other options, look for medium weight white wines with fresh acidity, rounded mouthfeel, lots of citrus, and herbal notes. 

Today we finally get to Alsace-A-Palooza part three. We started with a selection of wines from Alsace, then we moved on to appetizers, including flammekueche, and today it’s on to the main course!

When considering what main to make for this dinner party, I thought it only appropriate that I consult one of the many great chefs that hail from this part of France. The cuisine of the region is known for being quite hearty and delicious. Alsace also boasts more Michelin stars than anywhere else in France. Perhaps then, it’s not surprising that the region is also the birthplace to an impressive parade of star chefs. André Soltner, Hubert Keller, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten are just a few names the area has produced. I looked to them for inspiration.

I found what I was looking for in a recipe for Chicken with Riesling by Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Think of this as white wine version of coq au vin. I adapted a recipe I found on Food & Wine for a larger group by making use of the oven where I could more easily fit greater quantities of chicken in a roasting pan. Somewhere along the line, I also saw other recipes for chicken with Riesling that included a bit of nutmeg. I liked the idea and thought it would work with the hints of spice that tend to come with Alsace’s wine grapes. 

I didn’t otherwise intend to change very much . . . however, I accidentally made one more switch. On the night of the dinner party I went into autopilot and used chicken stock, which I always have on hand, instead of cream in the sauce. A few days later, I made more sauce to eat with leftover chicken and stuck to the recipe. Both versions were delicious. The version with cream was richer and perhaps a touch more decadent. Both were really luscious, however, and if you prefer not to use dairy and/or you want to keep things a touch lighter, the stock version is a great alternative.

Chicken with Riesling made with chicken stock. Photo by Greg Hudson.

Chicken with Riesling made with cream. Photo by Nicole Ruiz Hudson.

To round things out I made sous vide carrots with a little bacon jam glaze and braised cabbage.

Photo by Greg Hudson.

My friend Jessica also brought this White Bean and Asparagus Salad with Tarragon-Lemon Dressing by Melissa Clark on NY Times Cooking.

Photo by Greg Hudson.

I tried many of the wines with the chicken and the sides, none of them clashed and all worked pretty well. Of course, a few stuck out as particularly good matches:

Hugel Grossi Laüe Riesling Alsace 2011 was my favorite wine of the night. It was delicious with the chicken and became pleasantly peppery with the white bean and asparagus salad.



Schoffit Riesling Alsace Grand Cru Rangen de Thann 2016 brought out the nutmeg in the chicken’s sauce in a really delightful way.



The Trimbach Riesling Alsace 2013 worked beautifully with the carrots and cabbage.



The Domaine Zind Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Turckheim Alsace 2014 was also delicious with the carrots.



Please see Alsace-A-Palooza Part 1: The Wines for detailed descriptions on these and the rest of the wines we tasted.