The Wines You Should Pair With A Dish Of Sumptuous Chicken Kiev

What elevates a meal more effectively than a perfect wine pairing? It creates a full experience: You get an incredible dish and a beautiful wine, enjoyed together in flavor harmony. When you work hard cooking dinner, you deserve that, and you definitely want it if you're hosting a dinner party. Every dish has its own unique set of flavors and textures –– and therefore different wines that work especially well with it. For one of our favorite entrées, we sought expert help to pick the best vino.

There are classic wine-and-food pairings everyone should try, but what about when we venture past that with meals that are just as delicious but less discussed in terms of pairing? Classic chicken Kiev is one of those dishes. It's a retro staple we're embracing all over because it's irresistibly savory, rich, and garlicky. So it's high time we find out how to highlight it with wine. 

"A white wine probably makes the most sense," says Eugene Liberman, owner of St. Paul, Minnesota restaurant Moscow on the Hill. "Especially if you're traditional. Pinot grigio or a sauvignon blanc. Nice and refreshing, cuts through the richness of the butter, garlic and herbs." When pairing wine with food, you want to find both similar and contrasting flavors, balancing the food with the wine's tannins and acids. Sauvignon blanc and pinot grigio both boast flavor notes of lemon, herbs, and spices that complement chicken Kiev's ingredients, while punching through the dish's buttery richness with refreshing acidity.

While Liberman notes these white wine choices are traditional, they're not the only routes to finding balance and creating a delicious, interesting match-up. "If you like sparkling wine, I would go with a cava or a Champagne as the fresh bubbles would help to refresh the palate between bites of chicken and butter," he suggests. "If you're a red wine fan, I would go with a lighter red like a pinot noir. The earthiness of an Oregon pinot noir will marry perfectly with the garlic and herbs of the Kiev." Sparkling wine would achieve what the pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc would in terms of complementing and contrasting, but with effervescent pizzazz. Carbonation cuts fattiness and creaminess, clearing your palate so you keep wanting another bite.

The old rule about not pairing red wine with chicken is a myth — we learned that looking at the best wines to partner with fried chicken. White and red wines both have wide ranges of flavors and body, and you can find an option under either umbrella depending on what you prefer. Follow Liberman's advice by choosing a lighter red. Looking at many of the red wine varietals, something like malbec is full-bodied and may feel too heavy with rich chicken Kiev. Pinot noir, gamay, cabernet franc — these are lighter reds with notes of berries, florals, spices, and even peppers to complement and contrast chicken Kiev, plus they have a nice brightness to balance it.