What wines pair with poultry? The perfect match!

Which wine to pair with poultry?

When it comes to pairing poultry with wine, the first question that arises is the type of poultry. It can be white poultry (chicken, hen, rooster, cockerel, turkey) or red poultry such as duck, goose, or pigeon. Or even that intermediate category between white poultry and game birds: quail, guinea fowl, or even light-colored game birds such as partridge or pheasant.

The pairing will differ depending on whether you are dealing with one or the other of these types of poultry.

The second question is how the poultry is prepared, which can alter the pairing regardless of the species chosen. Given this diversity, the best approach is to list poultry according to their preparations and suggest pairings.

 

Wines to pair with roast chicken

Classic roast chicken does not have a reputation for being easy to pair. In reality, it is much more adaptable than one might think, and the choice is wide. It can be paired with a white as well as a red, and many other things. Note that these pairings also apply to roast turkey.

To avoid making a mistake, many choose to serve roast chicken with a light, easy-to-drink, and fruity red wine. Between chicken and a glouglou red, or even a "blouge" (between red and rosé), it's an instant love story. You'll never go wrong choosing a Susucaru rosato (Frank Cornelissen), a Mensonge à papa (Belly Wine Experiment), a Zudefruit (Jérôme Lambert), a Vinel-lo Ancestral (sparkling red) from Partida Creus, a Dolce et Cabanon from Cyril Alonso, or, of course, a very cheerful Beaujolais Nouveau We Are Young from Cyril Alonso and Jacques Juillard, exclusive to Culinaries.

Roast chicken, especially if well browned, pairs well with a macerated white wine with an oxidative profile: this brings out the crispness of the chicken skin and produces a rich and flavorful sensation. Here's what we recommend: Hip Hip by Alice Bouvot (Jura); all Alsatian macerated white wines from Domaine Eihnart (Éveil, Muscana, Colline des Anciens, Puls’Art, L’Intrépide, or Pet’-Nat’) or the Savoyard crus from Jean-Yves Péron (Côtillon des Dames, Les Œillets, Les Barrieux, La Petite Robe Blanc…).

 Finally, don't forget the perfect pairing with roast chicken: sweet white wine. Sauternes producers always bring out sweet wine from the cellar when serving chicken. So, dare to try the Samos 1958 from the Samos Cooperative (Sous le Végétal), the Xarab doré from Barranco Oscuro or the Guy liquoreux from La Sorga.

 

Wines to pair with stuffed festive poultry

For end-of-year celebrations, poultry: chicken, capon, pullet, turkey, fattened guinea fowl... is cooked with chestnuts, truffles, dried fruits, mushrooms such as chanterelles, morels, porcini mushrooms, or horn of plenty, with cognac or armagnac. This gives it an aromatic dimension with sweet notes. The choice of an oxidative white wine or sweet wine will be welcome: see the references in the two paragraphs above (Alice Bouvot, Jean-Yves Péron, Domaine Einhart, Sous le Végétal, Barranco Oscuro…). You can also serve a spirit: a whisky to choose from the Vintage Spirit Garage range, a single malt from the Ergaster distillery, an armagnac from Hootch or a cognac from Alain Chadutaud.

Finally, are you thinking that a festive wine would go well with festive poultry? We agree and recommend a Fleury champagne or Éric Collinet, or an excellent Catalan natural sparkling wine from Clos Lentiscus (Nuria cuvées, Gentlemant Malvasia), Funambule from Château Lafitte or Les Années folles from Jean-Pierre Robinot.

 

Wines to pair with simmered or marinated and grilled poultry

Depending on whether your poultry sauce is rather white (with cream), brown (with red wine, mushrooms...) or red (chicken basquaise...), you will pair it with a dry, mineral white wine in the first case, and with a fairly light or medium-bodied red in the other two cases.

For creamy poultry, the mineral white must be very mineral, and we envision a great Burgundy from the Côte de Beaune, for example, a Puligny-Montrachet, a Meursault, or a Saint-Romain white from Frédéric Cossard. Or also a delicious Melon de Bourgogne from the Muscadet region by De Vini: Alburostre, Alba, or our special YARD Melon de Bourgogne cuvée. Finally, mineral and very aromatic, the Chenin Blanc from the Loire by La Grapperie (La Diablesse, La Belle Egarée, La Bueilloise…) will also be reserved for your finest poultry.

With hunter's chicken or chicken basquaise, etc., a moderately full-bodied red is indicated. The choice is very wide on our site, but you can choose, for example, a red Beaujolais from Cyril Alonso (Les Larmes du Soleil, Ambre dissous), Nicolas Chemarin (Smack, Le Rocher, La Haute Ronze) or a wonderful Pineau d’Aunis from La Grapperie: Adonis or L’Enchanteresse.

For coq au vin, go for Syrah and red wines with substance: Fond Cyprès (Premier Jus rouge, Le Grenache du Bois Saint-Jaume, La Syrah de la Pinède…), Domaine Bois-Moisset (Hedyos, Falgueyras, Rencontre), Syrah from La Ferme de l’Arbre (Jamais Malade) or the Côtes du Rhône from Domaine des Grandes Serres.

Finally, for poultry in broth such as pot-au-feu, chicken phó, or poularde demi-deuil, we refer you a little higher up, as the pairings are the same as for creamy poultry: very mineral dry white wines from Burgundy or the Loire Valley, including the Muscadet region.

Marinated and grilled poultry are dependent on their marinade. The choice is not easy, but we can help you: a spicy and hot marinade calls for a fruity red wine that is not too full-bodied (Beaujolais, Pinot Noir, Loire red…); an oriental marinade (peanuts, herbs, fish sauce) requires a skin-contact white wine or a rosé, and a Mediterranean-style marinade (aromatic herbs, garlic, olive oil) will support all pairings: reds, whites, rosés, sparkling…

Wines to pair with: Guinea fowl, pheasant, partridge, quail

These birds are not like chicken: their flesh is more full-bodied, more gamey, and a little less fatty. Whatever the preparation, they can be paired with skin-contact white wines, oxidative white wines (see festive stuffed poultry for this, the pairings are the same).

Braised guinea fowl or partridge with cabbage is a full-bodied dish with a powerful aroma; you can pair it with red wines that clearly bear the mark of their terroir, and for this, we see nothing better than the Gamay wines of Auvergne or Pinot Noir from Patrick Bouju: Lulu, Môl rouge, and especially the P rouge based on Pinot Noir from Gergovie.

Wines to pair with: Duck, goose, pigeon

These are red-fleshed birds and therefore red meats. This time, the pairing with red wine is clear and unquestionable, especially if you choose to serve duck or pigeon rare. In this case, choose a red wine that is quite sanguine, full of vigor and substance: the Gamays and Pinots from Auvergne by Patrick Bouju mentioned above will work wonders. Other options: the reds from Jean-Yves Péron's I Vicini series, the astonishing red Cahors from Danis dans la vigne (Canotière, Crapaud Licorne, Tombé du camion…) and of course a structured Bordeaux (Eden from Château Bonnet or Cuvée O from Château Les Graves de Viaud, Back to Blaye from Château Frédignac). Not to mention the magnificent high-altitude reds from Cortijo Barranco Oscuro (1368 Cerro La Monjas, Rubaiyat) or the Castilian cuvées Alberto López Calvo from Bodegas Coruña del Conde.