I was having a few good friends over for a Sunday dinner of grilled chicken, but I wasn’t quite sure of what wines to serve. I’m sure many of you have had the similar dilemma of knowing exactly what you wanted to prepare, only to be faced with the challenge of pairing just the right wine with your meal. At times this can be a difficult thing to do, but my problem wasn’t so much as finding the right wine, it was narrowing it down to two. Fortunately for me, I have friends that like all styles and types of wines. Part of my decision had to do with how I wanted to cook the birds--I went with one of my favorite ways to prepare chicken:  butterfly, season and grill.

My son and I went to the market on Saturday and found a couple of organic birds and set them in a brine overnight. It’s a pretty simple process to brine:  For two birds I made a solution of ½ cup each of sugar and salt to two gallons of water, set the birds in the brine and cover in the refrigerator overnight. I took them out the next day, rinsed them well and then cut down each side of the backbone with kitchen shears, broke the wishbone, and there I had a butterflied fowl…easy, easy. Mike went out back and snipped off a handful of rosemary sprigs, which I placed under the skin of the breast, thigh, wings and legs. A little salt and pepper, and then I rubbed them real well with a handful of butter--they were ready for the grill. As with most meats I grill, I use the indirect heat method. By cooking this way I can put the bird on the grates and never have to worry about flare-ups or charred birds. I kept the lid closed, turned them once after 30 minutes, and half an hour later I had perfectly crisp and juicy chicken. If you don’t brine chickens or turkeys…give it a try, you will like the results.

Actually it was the birds who chose the wines. I only had to open them.

So, back to what wines to serve…the wine we had first was a bottle of the Block 516 Russian River Chardonnay (18.99), which was very refreshing with the cheeses, but the wines I went with for dinner were the 2009 Domaine du Grand Bourjassot Gigondas (32.99) and the very last bottle of one of my favorite rosé, the 2010 Domaine Mourchon Seguret rosé. (Since this rosé will be hard to find, Trians rosé is a great substitute!) 

These are fantastic wines and were right on the money with dinner. I had the great pleasure of visiting Domaine Bourjassot a few years ago and saw firsthand how a small family-run vineyard can create a wine that matches in quality with any of the larger, more technically advanced producers. This is one of those wineries where the owner has grape-stained hands…and proud of it!  A blend of 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah, the wine has a wonderful bouquet of fresh herbs and blackberries with bold, full flavors of crushed stones, ripe blackberry jam and a touch of spice. A beautiful example of Gigondas that should not be missed. As far as the rosé…it is so perfect with grilled poultry or anything grilled for that matter. I know I have gone on and on about how great a chilled glass (bottle) of dry rosé can be, but until you try it you’ll never know what you’re missing. We had other things to eat and drink, but the birds and dinner wines were what I’ll remember most. 

Ken Amendola, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits wine supervisor

Follow me on Twitter @abcwinekena