Big sweaters and PSLs are back in season! For me, Fall is the time to cook more meals at home. Why? Because I’ve splurged on eating out during the summer and need to save my credit cards for what’s to come – Christmas. So that’s why I’m doing a segment on wine and food pairings. I’m a strong believer in “working smarter, not harder”, so I always look for simplistic, flavourful recipes that still make enough food for leftovers the next day! Of course, I’ll let you know the perfect wines to go with your meal; after all, it is getting colder and wine makes you warmer. With the wine and food pairings, I encourage you to get creative and test different pairings because you never know when you can surprise yourself.
Thanksgiving is right around the corner in Canada, so I wanted to share this wine and food pairing since it’s definitely a crowd-pleaser; perfect for your more intimate Thanksgiving gatherings this year. I recently made roast chicken thighs with kale, carrots, onions, and rice using a recipe from my Aunt Lisa’s blog, A Day in the Kitchen and I LOVE IT (recipe is shown at the end of this blog post)! It’s so easy to make, can be cooked all in 1 pan so there's no pile of dirty dishes, and really flavourful when the juicy chicken fat cooks in with the mixture of spices. Not to mention, this recipe is easy to improvise with if you don’t have all the ingredients, which I did. Overall, this dish is homey, presentable, and great to make for gatherings. I paired this dish with my Mission Hill Reserve Pinot Noir 2018 (because I have a whole cellar of Mission Hill wine now). This wine is light-bodied, carries notes of red fruit, has light oak characteristics, and brings a fine finish. What makes this Pinot Noir a great pairing is that the subtle spice notes are enhanced by the spices in the dish, and the soft mouthfeel goes with the soft texture of the food. In other words, this wine has similar characteristics to the food that enhance it and vice versa. As red wines are in season, Pinot Noir with this roast chicken dish makes for a delicious savoury meal. If you don’t have or want to use Pinot Noir, Merlot, or Cabernet Sauvignon are great alternatives.
A nice add-on to my Pinot Noir was my handy TRIbella triple aerator (retails for $112.33). The aerator really enhanced the characteristics of the Pinot Noir. My palate could sense the flavours more easily, the texture was softer and smoother, and the mouthfeel was more rounded. If you have an aerator or decanter at home, be sure to use it on your red wines for your Thanksgiving feasts.
Happy Thanksgiving!! 🦃
