Wine Pairing Advice Needed

I am hosting an event at a hotel in Chicago, and am putting together the menu and choosing the wines.

Here are the main courses. Generally, what type of wine would people suggest with each?

1. Pan-seared Atlantic salmon, lentil ragout, truffle vinaigrette;

2. Provençal herb rubbed chicken breast Gruyère whipped potato, Madeira wine jus.

Thoughts? Am I nuts for thinking that a Pinot Noir would go well with the salmon? I don't have a clue as to what would work with chicken.

Thanks in advance.

DML wrote:I am hosting an event at a hotel in Chicago, and am putting together the menu and choosing the wines.

Here are the main courses. Generally, what type of wine would people suggest with each?

1. Pan-seared Atlantic salmon, lentil ragout, truffle vinaigrette;

2. Provençal herb rubbed chicken breast Gruyère whipped potato, Madeira wine jus.

Thoughts? Am I nuts for thinking that a Pinot Noir would go well with the salmon? I don't have a clue as to what would work with chicken.

Thanks in advance.

What's your price point per bottle? Also, how many people are you serving?

It is a hotel, so I'm bound to their list. It has a pretty good range of wine types and regions.

I'm looking for general advice as to type, region, age, etc. (i.e. I tend to think that a Oregon Pinot may work with the salmon) people would tend.

The chicken is throwing me off. The Provencal herb chicken alone I tend to think would go well with a young Chardonnay, but I'm not sure how well that would work with the pototoes and Mad. jus.

DML wrote:It is a hotel, so I'm bound to their list. It has a pretty good range of wine types and regions.

I'm looking for general advice as to type, region, age, etc. (i.e. I tend to think that a Oregon Pinot may work with the salmon) people would tend.

The chicken is throwing me off. The Provencal herb chicken alone I tend to think would go well with a young Chardonnay, but I'm not sure how well that would work with the pototoes and Mad. jus.

I'd try a sauv blanc for the chicken - there are tons of odd grapes I'd throw at you to try, but you're working with a hotel list here. If you want something to lighten it up a bit you might lean towards a sancerre for that minerality. Also, a Chablis could be a great option for the chicken- unoaked chardonay.

For the Salmon what about an off dry riesling- I love the combination of lentils with some wines with a touch of RS. You could go Oregon Pinot, but I'm worried it would overwhelm the fish. What about a rose instead?

I agree with jpschust for the salmon, an Oregon or French pinot, with some earthy mushroom notes, would pair well with both the salmon and the truffle notes. Just don't go to fruit-forward.

As for the chicken, a sauv blanc or Spanish albarino would work if it has enough herbal/grassy notes to play off the herb-rubbing. For a red, try a Spanish Rioja that has some herbal notes as well - this would play off the Gruyere better too, as would a French Provence red.

Have fun!

Thanks.
The hotel has a Cambria Pinot Noir. Looks like I will go with that for the salmon.
For the chicken, I am thinking of a sauv. blanc by Mauritson. The potatoes and jus are still causing concern though.

I would steer clear of the Mauritson- the grapefruit and apricot prolly will clash with the dish. See if you can find something more herbal, like a Sancerre, if you want a white.

Cambriawill be much more fruit-forward than Oregon pinot...

If you point us to the hotel wine list, that would be truly helpful DML

I would not suggest following a red wine with a white wine. Generally, you want wines to build in body and intensity with each course. Ideally, the dishes build in a similar fashion. Serving a light white wine after a red will make the white wine taste thinner than it would otherwise. The salmon dish you discribe would work quite well with white Burgundy (chardonnay). Pinot Noir works better with salmon that has been grilled.

Madeira, a dry, fortified, deliberately oxidized wine, is an unusual choice for a jus. If the chef is flexible, ask him or her if the sauce can be made with a low tannin red wine, and and if sauted mushrooms can be served on the side. Match the dish with Pinot Noir. If the dish cannot be changed, Pinot Noir can still work, but make sure it's a red Burgundy.

Good luck with your dinner.

Nice suggestions FrankP!

Frank and Wino,
Thanks for your advice. I've sent both of you PMs including the wine list. The two courses listed are going to the main course options, as opposed to the fish course and a following course. I am not big on fish as a main course, but this is a lunch and it appears to have enough weight for the purpose. The chicken sounds great, but it is giving me problems for reasons stated -- the herb chicken tends to point me to something lighter, while the jus tends to go the other way.
Thanks again for your thoughts. This was much more difficult than I thought when I started working on the matter.