One of the amazing things about wine is its uncanny ability to get along well with food. I can still remember the first time the light bulb went on for me with this: I was eating Osso Bucco at La Bouchon in Los Angeles and had taken a number of bites (as the waiter was tardy with bringing my glass of wine). When the wine arrived, I took a sip, and my next bite exploded with flavor. It was like the wine and the dish were two parts of a whole that, when united, made something spectacular.

General rules

Wine pairings aren’t rocket science, and there are general rules you can follow, like white with fish and certain chicken dishes, and red with beef, lamb, and tomato sauces. But I’ve found that, like with most things about wine, it really boils down to personal preference.  For me, the best place to start exploring wine pairings is with the classic French dish Coq au Vin. Since we’re basically dealing with chicken and wine as the core of our dish, it’s a fantastic place to explore the way different wines pair with food.

Kick it off with coq qu vin

At home, we use a fairly basic Coq au Vin recipe that actually comes from Whole Foods. It’s an easy slow cooker meal, and it’s something we’ve had many times.  The wonderful thing about the dish is that it changes fairly dramatically based on the kind of wine we use and drink with it.

We’ve made this Coq au Vin with some of my favorite Zinfandels from the Lodi region (an area in California where you can get some fantastic low priced Zins including 7 Deadly Zins, Earthquake Zin, and my favorite, Brazin Old Vine Lodi Zinfandel), which gives the dish wonderful, deep and dark flavor notes. We’ve also made it with some of our favorite NW Red Wine Blends, like Cana’s Feast Two Rivers 2007 Columbia Valley, which emphasizes the brighter notes in the dish.

START SIMPLE AND ENJOY
Playing around with a wine-based dish like Coq au Vin is a good way to understand the relationship between wine and food. It’s a pretty simple equation because the wine you’re pairing with is actually in the dish, but starting someplace simple is good. It’s from a familiarity with these kinds of flavors that will enable you to start to be aware of the dynamic between food and wine, and will be a solid base as you look to pair other wines with other dishes.