10 Wines for Fall Foods

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Braised Chicken Thighs with Autumn Vegetables

Another simple autumn vegetable and meat dish, this one with meaty chicken thighs playing the featured role. This blend of Brussels sprouts, parsnips and carrots makes for a slightly sweet dish with a complex yet subtle herbal flavor. You don’t want to pair this with anything too intense, so opt instead for something subtle and complex. I have to admit that a specific wine popped to mind here.

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Mas Daumas Gassac Blanc is just the right wine, made from a blend of Viognier, Chardonnay, Petit Manseng, Chenin Blanc and a handful of other grapes. It would sing with this dish, but it’s neither easy to find nor inexpensive, and I wouldn’t use it to cook with. As a back up, I’ll make a more accessible recommendation for a wine with nearly as crazy a blend: Chardonnay, Semillon, Gewurztraminer, Orange Muscat, Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc.

Try the 2010 Murrietta’s Well The Whip from California

For a red wine pairing, you want something that is simple enough to not overpower the flavors of the dish and fruity enough to add a counterpoint to the sweetly herbal flavors of the cooked carrots and parsnips. I’d opt for something from Sicily, a nice Cerasuolo di Vittoria that blends the lively texture of Frappato with the black cherry punch of Nero d’Avola.

Try the 2008 Valle dell’Acate Cerasuolo di Vittoria from Italy

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Comments

ChristophG

572812 17

Dear Gregory, just one correction: Gruyere cheese comes from Switzerland (french speaking part), and not from France! More precisely from the Swiss region of Gruyere. It's an "AOC" product (appellation d'origine controlée), Gruyere cheese underlies very strict production rules and only comes from small, defined areas in the alps and Jura mountains (still Switzerland). The name is also protected. And: If you find, try out "Etivaz" cheese, from the same geographical region but only made from milk of cows spending their summer in the high meadows located in the alps. Besides I enjoy your blog and share your preferences for wine from Piemonte and Pinot Noir from Burgundy, areas I'm lucky to have nearby,living in Geneva, Switzerland. CinCin! Christoph Gisler

Oct 30, 2012 at 6:08 AM