The Best Wine To Pair With Garlic Chicken Wings

While Buffalo sauce may be the flavor that brought chicken wings to the dance, this once-neglected cut of meat has since become the belle of the ball. Wing recipes now come in all kinds of flavors, but some of the most popular include garlic. For example, garlic can be paired with parmesan (here's our copycat recipe for Buffalo Wild Wings' version), but it also shows up in sweet and savory combos such as honey and garlic (we've got a recipe for this, too).

Wings such as these no longer need to be seen as bar food meant to be washed down with copious quantities of beer; they're now recognized as an appetizer fit for even a wine-sipping soiree. If you'll be dining on garlic wings and are looking for an appropriate wine to serve, you'll want something that will stand up to the flavor, and pinot noir is your best pick.

Why pinot noir? Well, with garlic chicken wings, you're primarily looking for something to match the garlic flavor instead of the chicken itself. Pinot noir is bold enough that it stands up to the pungency of the wing seasoning, while its spicy, fruity notes help to offset any excess garlickiness.

We're long past the days of restrictive wine rules dictating that red wines be paired with red meats while chicken and fish must be served with whites. That being said, if you prefer white wine to red, there's no reason not to have it with your garlic chicken wings. Again, though, garlic is going to be the dominant flavor dictating the choice of wine since chicken, while tasty, isn't sufficiently assertive to require a specific pairing. Perhaps the best type of white wine to go with garlic wings is another member of the pinot family: pinot grigio. It may be less full-bodied than its red counterpart, yet it has a citrusy tang that can cut through the garlic.

Sauvignon blanc is also on the light and citrusy side and thus complementary to garlicky chicken. If your taste runs more toward drier whites, chardonnay is a good choice. It, too, has fruity notes as well as grassy ones that stand in contrast to the aromatic wing seasoning.