cooking with red wine

Check out "Cooking With Wine I" (May 2005) and "Cooking With Wine II" (June 2005).

http://www.ahherald.com/food/index.html

Mark

Coq au Vin is a classic, but I think the Cab or the Shiraz would be too much. You really do need a very good (i.e. expensive) French Burgundy or California (much less expensive) Pinot. I'm guessing the Cab/Shirz tannins would muddy the flavour, but that's just an amateur's guess. ;)

Wuzzo:

As I said in the articles.......

Your goal is to match the weight/intensity of the wine to the dish. The "dish" includes more than the primary item, let's say the chicken, but also the sauce, and to a lesser degree, accompanying items.

Generally speaking, chicken dishes that employ red wine usually rely on a lighter red, simply because chicken is a lighter meat (not color, but depth of flavor, heartiness, etc.).

However, there are always exceptions. Coq au Vin, especially real Coq au vin, is an exception. In classic Coq au Vin a rooster, not a 6 month old hen from the supermarket's Purdue section, is used. The rooster is tough and more gamey than a young hen. Thus, you could certianly utilize a heavier wine such as Bordeaux, although a good Burgundy would work as well.

Mark