The best wines to drink with chicken
Discover how to match chicken recipes with your favourite wines. Our wine expert talks through the characteristics of bottles and explains how to pair them with popular chicken dishes.
Wine expert Henry Jeffreys works with the BBC Good Food team to collate our exclusive BBC Good Food Wine Club cases. Read about the flavour profiles of various bottles, and get some inspiration for pairing wines with chicken recipes.
Read about how to join the BBC Good Food Wine Club
Wine pairing at a glance:
Oaked chardonnay food pairing: Roast chicken
Viognier food pairing: Chicken curry
Gavi food pairing: Risotto
New Zealand sauvignon blanc food pairing: Stir-fry
Australian semillon food pairing: Chicken pie
How to match wine with chicken
Best wine to serve with roast chicken – oaked chardonnay (white)
Buttery, unctuous roast chicken needs a wine of similar stature, which is why an oaked chardonnay works so well. You can expect melon and herb flavours from the wine, plus a buttery finish.
Serve oaked chardonnay with lemon and thyme butter-basted roast chicken with gravy
Best wine to serve with chicken curry – viognier (white)
Viognier is often slightly off-dry, and that tiny amount of sugar tempers the heat of a Thai curry, which would destroy bone-dry wines.
Serve viognier with Thai green chicken curry
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Best wine to serve with chicken risotto – gavi (white)
If you’re ever stuck for a wine match, look at where a dish is from and drink accordingly. Gavi comes from the heart of Italian risotto country, Piedmont, and works well with a lighter rice dish. Expect flavours of pear, almond and stone fruit from the wine.
Serve gavi with chicken & mushroom risotto
Best wine to serve with chicken stir-fry – New Zealand sauvignon blanc (white)
The bright green flavours of a stir-fry cry out for a wine of similar verve, and no wine has quite as much punch as a sauvignon blanc from New Zealand, which sings with green pepper, pink grapefruit and tropical fruit.
Serve New Zealand sauvignon blanc with cashew chicken stir-fry
Best wine to serve with chicken pie – Australian semillon (white)
A chicken pie with a creamy filling needs a wine with a similarly creamy texture. Australian semillon has the most delicious round texture, but with enough limey acidity to stand up to the fat in the pastry.
Serve Australian semillon with chicken, leek & cider pie
Join the BBC Good Food Wine Club
If you love trying new wines and want more info on how they work best with food, we've got the perfect club for you. The BBC Good Food Wine Club is brought to you in partnership with Laithwaite's and allows members to sample different wines every four, eight or 12 weeks. It's perfect if you don't know what you're looking for, as our experts select food-friendly bottles of red, white and sparkling wine to make each case. Guided by the expert team at Laithwaite’s, we pride ourselves on the fact that our team tastes each and every wine in every case.
Sign up to the BBC Good Food Wine Club today
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Have you found the perfect wine and chicken pairing? We'd love to hear about it…