Wine Advice Needed - Zuni Roast Chicken w/Bread Salad

I was originally thinking of a Riesling, especially for the salad component of the dish, but the cookbook recommends a Pinot Noir. So, I have two questions.

Should I stick with my original hunch or go w/the Pinot Noir?

And, then, which one. I have a pretty good handle of what to get in an Alsaciatian in the $30-40 range, but Pinot Noir, I'm pretty lost. I like NZ SBs and thought I'd like their PNs, but I have not, but maybe I need to spend more money--I mean if ever the sour NZ flavor might help, it would be on this dish.

Rob

The Zuni roast chicken with bread salad is fantastic. It's always a huge treat when trix makes it for me.
Just a thought; how about an Italian Amarone with its beautiful hint of sweetness as well as wonderful fullness?
I also think you stand a much better chance for success, both pricewise and qualitywise with this suggestion over the boatload of marginal pinots that exist globally.

You should be able to find one for around $30 or so.

Eat and drink well, my friend!

PIGMON wrote:The Zuni roast chicken with bread salad is fantastic. It's always a huge treat when trix makes it for me.
Just a thought; how about an Italian Amarone with its beautiful hint of sweetness as well as wonderful fullness?
I also think you stand a much better chance for success, both pricewise and qualitywise with this suggestion over the boatload of marginal pinots that exist globally.

You should be able to find one for around $30 or so.

Eat and drink well, my friend!

Thanks, interesting (and good) suggestion.

The dish is one of my favorites too

Vital Information wrote:I was originally thinking of a Riesling, especially for the salad component of the dish, but the cookbook recommends a Pinot Noir. So, I have two questions.

Should I stick with my original hunch or go w/the Pinot Noir?

I'm sure either, or Pigmon's suggestion, would be fine. Do you know any Pinot Noirs that you do like? They can vary wildly in style - from fruity to funky, from rich to thin. Even within regions, like Oregon's Willamette valley, and the same winemaker, you can find very different wines. And Pinot Noir can be very very good, so good, or Pinot can break your heart.

leek wrote:And Pinot Noir can be very very good, so good, or Pinot can break your heart.

So true. I guess the question, Mr. Vital is, do you want to play the age old game of finding a satisfying pinot or not? If you find the right one, it can be the height of wine enjoyability. If not (which is way more likely), it will be just another bottle of unmemorable, expensive wine.

Trix reminded me that Judy Rodger's bread stuffing uses currants, giving a nice sweetness to it. An amarone, with its slight sweetness, would compliment it nicely.

Interestingly, the grapes used to make amarone (predominantly corvina) are picked, laid out on straw mats, and dried out in a warm, dark room for several months to create a raisin-like grape for sweetness.

I hope I haven't created the impression that this is anything near a dessert wine or anything, because it isn't. Just a unique, very full bodied red, with a very pleasant sweetness to it.

PIGMON wrote:

leek wrote:And Pinot Noir can be very very good, so good, or Pinot can break your heart.

So true. I guess the question, Mr. Vital is, do you want to play the age old game of finding a satisfying pinot or not? If you find the right one, it can be the height of wine enjoyability. If not (which is way more likely), it will be just another bottle of unmemorable, expensive wine.

Trix reminded me that Judy Rodger's bread stuffing uses currants, giving a nice sweetness to it. An amarone, with its slight sweetness, would compliment it nicely.

That's the thing. I had no confidence that I could find a Pinot Noir within my budget that would be memorable. I did have a high degree of confidence that the Zind Humbrecht would be very good, so that's what I got. I am however, very intrigued (still) by the Amarone suggestion and look forward to trying.

Thanks all.

OK, so there is a budget. Tell us the budget, and we'll see if we know good Pinots that will fit it!