Yum, what a delicious wintertime dish, with stimulating aromas and flavors to force a way through cold and damp, even doldrums. Certain wines do that too, with their heady perfumes, stout construction and broad, long-lasting flavors. Just be sure that your wine pick also sports low or moderate tannin, buoyant fruitiness and sufficient acidity because this luscious quail dish is low in fat, significant in sweetness and just salty enough to benefit from a pour with that profile. But if your wine brings along high alcohol and gobs of tannin, it’ll put a chill on the tasties in this dish.
THE FOOD: Chutney-glazed roasted quail
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Insert thyme sprigs in body cavities of 4 quail; season birds inside and out with salt and pepper. Place the birds in a small roasting pan. Combine 1/4 cup cranberry chutney or other chutney, juice of 1 orange and 1/2 teaspoon curry powder in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave stirring occasionally, until reduced to a light syrup, about 4 minutes. Spoon syrup over the quail. Roast quail, turning and basting twice with glaze and any pan juices, until cooked through, 20-25 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes. Makes: 2 servings
THE WINES
2009 Spring Valley Vineyards Frederick Red Wine, Walla Walla, Washington: A Bordeaux blend of the five major red varieties; super elegant and linear, it drives right through the palate whispering its tannins and dark red fruit flavors at the finish. $50
2012 Tramin Gewurztraminer, Alto Adige, Italy: Big-beaked, with waves of perfumes of peach, guava and rosewater that introduce a juicy, softly textured white fat on the flavor. $22
2010 Marques de Casa Concha Carmenere, Peumo, Chile: A hint of green vegetable at the edge of this black-red fruited, softly textured, abundant and lengthy red from Chile’s home grape. $20
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