In my fic, I have Clark making Lois a dinner of chicken with a mushroom sauce, and rice. What type of wine would Clark pick to go along with this main course?

Other things in the dinner would be a green salad and some steamed vegetables. It isn't an incredibly ambitious dinner, more of a "two friends getting together" dinner.

I am not very savvy about wine and would appreciate advice. Any suggestions?

I'd assume that the mushroom sauce would be a white, delicate sauce.

Maybe this table would help?

I'd say a Chardonnay (take a look at this Wikipedia page) would be good.

malu

It depends on the type of mushroom sauce. Chicken marsala is made with marsala, which is a red wine. There are also cream sauces, some of which can be made with white wine or chicken broth.

I'm not a wine drinker, either, so I'm really no help. Sorry. Every time a recipe calls for wine, I panic and try to figure out what kind of little bottles will work!

I got the impression Iolan was asking about wine to serve with the meal, not as an ingredient. Given that it's a more casual, friendly dinner, I don't think you need to stress too much about the wine. One easy solution would be for Clark to ask Lois whether she prefers red or white, and open whichever she selects.

In general, a heavier meal goes best with a fuller bodied wine, while a lighter dish is served with a lighter wine. Both reds and whites can be fuller or lighter, and while the very general "rule" is that reds go better with beef/pork while white goes with chicken/fish, it really depends on the dish itself. The dish you've described seems more in the middle to me in terms of richness (especially if it's a cream sauce), so you're really flexible -- you could go with a medium-bodied red like Merlot or Shiraz or a medium-bodied white like Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc.

Kathy (now I want to eat with them )

When in doubt, go Rosé or blush wine. A really casual dinner is even wine-in-a-box. That's been looked down on in past years, but is gaining acceptance now.

Artemis

I'm rather short-sighted and convinced an Australian Shiraz goes with everything. Nothing says casual at my house quite like a bottle of Yellow Tail.


JD
(wants to drink with them)

For purposes of this fic, the wine is to drink with the meal, it's not being added to the food.

Also, at least for right now, the chicken is made with a creamy mushroom sauce. The sauce I'm envisioning is whitish or cream-colored. I'm not sure what kind of mushrooms they are - maybe they're just the little button mushrooms, or would Clark do something with shiitake or portabella? (the only other mushroom types that I know )

Does that change anyone's recommendations?

Thanks everyone, for your responses!

Is the type of wine important? Otherwise why not simply say that Clark chose wine to go with the meal?

How about Sauvignon Rosé? I think Sauvignon Blanc would be a little light for chicken. It would do better with fish.

Artemis