How to pair wines with chicken: A style guide

Roast chicken with wine — Credit: Muenz / iStock / Getty Images Plus

(Image credit: Muenz / iStock / Getty Images Plus)

Roasted, grilled, fried, poached… However you like to enjoy your chicken, there will be a wine to match it. This versatile ingredient takes centre stage in a whole host of dishes from casseroles and tagines to salads and stir-fries. It can make a simple mid-week supper of grilled chicken skewers or a lavish Sunday lunch of roast chicken with all the trimmings.

When it comes to pairings, the first thing to note is that it’s not all about white wine. While it’s true that white wine with chicken – especially Chardonnay in its various guises – is a classic match, the rule isn’t as concrete as you might think. Rosé and orange wines can also make a winning partner for chicken dishes; the skin-contact that gives these wines their colour can also give them food-friendly texture.

If you’re a rosé fan, look out for the darker pink styles, which usually have more tannin and structure than their pale pink cousins, making them more gastronomic and better for food pairing generally. Following the same principle, lighter red wines with good acidity can also work well with chicken dishes.

Look for grapes such as Pinot Noir, Gamay and Garnacha, which can produce lively, fruity red wines with good acidity, that can even be enjoyed chilled. Even reds with a little more body can work with heavier dishes, such as a casserole or chicken pie.

The basic principle is that you don’t want to overpower the meat, or the dish. A wine with a bigger kernel of luscious fruit and decent acidity could match up well with a richer dish. But too much tannic structure risks masking the flavours.

Roast chicken

Chicken is often roasted with seasoning and a medley of herbs, as well as perhaps some garlic, lemon and butter or olive oil. Chardonnay is a classic match here. Choose an oaked style that carries a little more weight on the palate or a New World option with a riper fruit profile.

As food and wine pairing expert Fiona Beckett points out in her article Sunday lunch wines: 25 perfect picks, roast chicken adapts to the seasons. ‘In the heat of summer, I actually like to cook the chicken earlier in the day, let it cool to room temperature and serve it with a gratin or salad, in which case a good Provence rosé would make an ideal accompaniment,’ she says.

Matthieu Longuère MS, wine development manager at Le Cordon Bleu London, agrees and also suggests an Austrian Grüner Veltliner, with a touch of spice to pair with a summery roast chicken with lemon and herbs. ‘Because of the acidity of the lemon and the pungency of the herbs and garlic, a ripe aromatic white wine or a full flavour rosé would be perfect,’ he notes.

For a more autumnal dish of roast chicken with morel mushrooms, Beckett suggests a vin jaune. A speciality of the Jura region in France, this is a part-oxidised dry white made from the Savagnin grape and aged in barrels for more than six years. For a less adventurous choice Beckett recommends a good white Burgundy or other cool-climate Chardonnay. ‘The same style of wine would also work a treat with a chicken pie,’ she adds.

Chicken in Asian cuisine

Alongside pork and shellfish, chicken is a mainstay of many Asian cuisines from Thai and Malaysian to Japanese and Chinese. But while chicken is ubiquitous in noodle, rice and dumpling dishes, it can be tricky to pair due to the complex herbs and spices commonly used in those food cultures.

Opt for aromatic white wines featuring grapes such as Riesling and Gewürztraminer to complement complex Asian flavours. Regions to look out for include Alsace and New Zealand. Torrontes from Argentina can also work well.

Aromatic white varieties can also be paired with minced chicken dim sum or sesame chicken. The distinctive characteristics of these aromatic grapes – not to mention a touch of sweetness at times – work well here. For spicier dishes, such as Thai chicken curry, Riesling again is a go-to, particularly off-dry styles with some residual sugar.

Fried chicken with Champagne

One of the ultimate comfort foods, fried chicken is an enduringly popular dish. As well as matching the flavour of the chicken, your wine pairing needs to have enough acidity to cut through the fattiness of the frying. Sparkling wines that combine signature high acidity with a good dose of freshness are an ideal option here.

There are plenty of styles to choose from, ranging from Spain’s signature sparkler Cava to South Africa Cap Classique. Though avoid lighter styles of sparkling such as Prosecco, which won’t have enough body to stand up to big flavours.

For Chris Gaither, sommelier and co-owner of San Francisco wine bar Ungrafted, there’s only one choice. ‘Who doesn’t like fried chicken? And who doesn’t like Champagne?’ he says. ‘I’m a big fan of creole spiced fried chicken with a vintage blanc de blancs Champagne. It has great texture, on the slightly lean side, but enormous complexity and a hint of creaminess in the mid-palate with a citrusy twang.’

Gaither also suggests English sparkling wine; other cool-climate New World styles such as Tasmanian fizz would also work well.

Styles to consider when matching wines with chicken:

Chardonnay
Grüner Veltliner
Riesling
Champagne
Pinot Noir
Beaujolais
Spanish Garnacha

Coq au vin and chicken casserole dishes

Few things are more mouthwatering than the hearty aromas of a chicken casserole wafting through from the kitchen. Red wine drinkers could try uncorking a Pinot Noir, with Burgundy being the most classic choice. Within Burgundy, great value can still be found in slightly lesser-known areas such as the Côte Chalonnaise to the south of Beaune, for example.

Le Cordon Bleu London’s Longuère suggests looking beyond Burgundy. ‘A soft, low-tannin, red cherry flavoured, cool-climate New World Pinot Noir would be perfect,’ he says. He suggests the coastal region of Limarí in Chile as a good choice. You could also look to Mornington Peninsula in Australia, Oregon, New Zealand or California’s Santa Barbara County, to name just a few.

Pinot isn’t the only red wine to pair with chicken, of course. In general, look for fruit-forward wines with low tannins and relatively good acidity to help lift the dish.

Regional flavours

As with other meat dishes, successful wine pairing depends on how you cook and serve chicken. But a useful rule – particularly if you’re preparing an international style of dish – is to choose wines from its country of origin.

For example, an Italian chicken and pesto dish packed with vibrant basil flavours would point you towards a citrusy Vermentino with a bit of skin-contact for extra depth and texture.

Similarly Spain’s Garnacha will pair with Spanish-style chicken dishes prepared with sweet or smoky paprika or bravas sauce.

However you enjoy your chicken, here are a few wine choices to give you inspiration.

Chicken winners: Our experts select the best wines to pair with chicken

Julie Sheppard joined the Decanter team in 2018 and is Regional Editor for Australia, New Zealand and South Africa & Spirits Editor.

Before Decanter, she worked for a range of drinks and food titles, including as managing editor of both Imbibe and Square Meal, associate publisher of The Drinks Business, senior editor of the Octopus Publishing Group and Supplements editor of Harpers Wine & Spirit. As a contributor, she has over 20 years’ experience writing about food, drink and travel for a wide range of publications, including Condé Nast Traveller, Delicious, Waitrose Kitchen, Waitrose Drinks, Time Out and national newspapers including The Telegraph and The Sunday Times.