This is a simple dish without a lot pretenses; in other words, “it is what is and nothing more.” With a meal that character, you want a good wine to accompany your dining pleasure, besides your husband, wife or whatever. I want to remind you that if you feel “a need” to spend a fortune on an uber wine as your dining companion then by all means do so. If no one’s looking get a good solid bottle of red that will cosy up to you, sit in your lap and whisper sweet nothings for a far more reasonable price. For a moment, just think of yourself as being in City of Lights as you stroll down one of the avenues, you stop and read the menu or the special of the day scratched in pencil. It looks like it might be delicious indeed and you peer inside; almost a full house with waiters bustling about putting new table clothes down here, setting plates laden with food there, opening wine and everyone, almost to a Parisian, seems to be having the special: Le Poule  Sauté Chasseur and washing it down with a red wine and a smile.  You push open the doors, spot a seat in the far corner. The waiter tells you there is only one more serving of the special left as he places a wine glass on the table and suggests a Chinon for tonight’s meal. You agree. You look at the happy customers, watch the waiters serving the food, smell the aromas from the kitchen and listen to the music as you become part of the picture you’ve just painted.

Les Vins de Sélection

Pouilly-Vinzelles AOC ‘En Paradis’ 2003 Louis Latour – This is from the Maconnais area of southern Burgundy, an area is devoted to white wine, (about 90%), almost exclusively Chardonnay. While this area produces three times as much white wine as the other areas of Burgundy, it is not as well known.

Chinon Domaine Gouron 2007 from the Loire Valley.  This wine always holds true as a faithful compagnion to a bistro-like dish such as this one. The wine is made from 100% 15 to 35 year old Cabernet Franc vines. The Chinon is a very good wine and real pleasure to drink and appreciate with the meal. That’s what it’s all about really. The wine has an inky purple-blood red look to it with perfume cassis, menthol and eucalyptus which is fairly typical of this grape.

Côtes du Rhône Villages, Rhone Valley “Les Becs Fins” a regional term meaning “demanding palates.” This a great piece of work by Michele Tardieu of the Tardieu-Laurent winery. This selection should also pair beautifully with the Poulet. The elegance associated a Côtes-du-Rhône meets traditional French bistro cuisine. Is this possibly a match made in heaven? In a horse race with a Chinon who would win?