Fried Chicken and Champagne Belong Together

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Somewhere along the way, fried chicken with Champagne became the pairing that sommeliers order on their night off. It sounds like a provocation. It is actually one of the most logical matches on the table.

Why It Works

Fried chicken is salt, fat and crunch. Champagne is acidity and bubbles, with a toasty, bready character from the time it spends ageing on its lees. The acidity cuts the fat. The bubbles scrub the palate between bites. The salt in the crust makes the wine taste fuller and rounder. And the toasted, brioche notes in a good non-vintage brut echo the browned crust itself.

There is a reason the combination keeps appearing on restaurant menus as a supper of one bucket and one bottle. Every bite makes you want a sip, and every sip makes you want another bite.

Choosing the Chicken

A buttermilk brine and a well-seasoned flour crust are ideal. Hot honey and heavy spice push toward a rosé Champagne or a demi-sec; Korean-style double-fried chicken with a soy glaze still works with a brut. Avoid sweet barbecue sauce, which flattens any dry sparkling wine.

Serve the Champagne at 8 to 10°C (46 to 50°F) in a white-wine glass rather than a flute. The wider bowl lets the aromas open, and fried chicken deserves the full picture.

The Bottles

Champagne Palmer Brut Réserve

A grower-cooperative house from Reims with a reputation among sommeliers for quality well above its price. Generous, toasty and ideal for the crisp, salty skin. Shop it at Wine.com.

Champagne Telmont Réserve Brut

A Marne Valley house with a sharp focus on sustainable viticulture. Its Réserve Brut is bright and Meunier-inflected, with the fresh energy to keep pace with a whole platter. Shop it at Wine.com.

One Rule

Eat with your hands, and keep a napkin for the glass.

The Pairing is Santé’s daily column on one dish and the wine that makes it better. A new pairing every evening.