Roast Poussin and Baked Pears

Sam Blake asked which wines would complement roast poussin with cornbread stuffing followed by baked pears.

Nick Page's suggestions:
Nice recipe, I've just Googled it and it looks yummy. Chicken/poussin is very wine friendly, the shorter list is what doesn't go with it rather than what does.

White (but not Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling) or light-ish red is fine. The omnipresent Chardonnay with a lick of oak is a classic match. I'm not that keen on Burgundy, I prefer Chardonnay from elsewhere with most roast poultry. There are lots to choose from; some of my favourites are Pulenta Estate Chardonnay, Ramey's Russian River Chardonnay and Isabel Chardonnay from New Zealand.

Red wine wise, Beaujolais is made for roast chicken. 2009 is the best vintage they have had in living memory. Everything I have tasted from 09 has been lovely. That's what I would drink with this dish.

Pears are difficult to match with wine; they have such a great acid/sweetness balance that if you pair them with a wine that doesn't then the wine seems poor. Loire sweeties are the best match. Chenin Blanc has that delicate balance that pears do. Look for top producing areas such as Coteaux du Layon and Chaume. A black muscat is often a good bet with chocolate dishes but this is likely to overwhelm the pears so I would stick with Chenin.

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You’ll find lots of ‘rules’ about matching wine with food on bbr.com and also within your Wine Club members’ binder, but for complicated recipes sometimes it can be difficult to understand exactly which flavour to match the wine with. Berrys’ food and wine matching expert, Nick Page, provides wine suggestions to Wine Club members’ dilemmas.

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