2008 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, Estate Bottled

Château des Charmes Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, Estate Bottled
paired with
Almond Crusted Chicken Breasts

Recipe courtesy of Theresa Albert, from her book Ace Your Health, 52 Ways to Stack Your Deck

One of the basic tenets of Ace Your Health is: in order to be healthy and enjoy food to its fullest, you have to be prepared. A handful of simple, delicious recipes can get you a long way toward that goal. This recipe is easily doubled or tripled so that you are never without some lean, tasty protein to toss into a salad or slice onto a sandwich. Luckily Generation Seven White pairs perfectly with the almonds and dill so a pleasant moment is always at your fingertips.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 cup ground almonds
• ¼ cup Dijon mustard
• ½ cup cornmeal
• 1 tsp dill seeds
• ¼ cup Generation Seven White wine
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Method

Mix together almond, Dijon, cornmeal, dill seeds and 3 tbsps of wine to form a paste. Add salt and pepper as desired. Pour remaining wine in a plate. Dip breasts into wine and then lay into a casserole dish (lasagna sized), smear paste onto each breast and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in oven 40- 45 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°F.

Serve on top of salad greens or sliced into a sandwich with a chunk of Highland Blue cheese from Back Forty Artisan Cheese.

This classic Chardonnay is a picture of balance – fruit, acid, oak and alcohol working together to create a wonderfully versatile food wine. Try it with a simple Caesar salad topped with Niagara-on-the-Lake’s own Pingue prosciutto that has been dried in the oven then crumbled over the salad.

“Straw coloured with a bouquet of almonds and apples with a mineral note; medium-bodied, spicy apple flavour, richly extracted fruit; good length and great value. 88 pts.” 

– Tony Aspler, Tidings, September, 2011

“Vanilla and spiced-apple aromas set up this mid-weight well-integrated Chardonnay. It packs a power punch of flavour with apple pie spice, ripe pear and peach plus tangy lemon riding along a silky smooth texture. It finishes balanced and lip-smacking good with moderating acidity balancing the ripe fruit flavour. Good value here.  4 / 5 stars.”

– Vic Harradine, WineCurrent.com, May, 2011

“This has maturing lemon-gold colour. The nose is not obviously oaky despite being barrel fermented and aged nine months in French Alliers barrels. Expect aromas of light toast, lemon, chive, fried onion and apple. It’s medium weight, quite silky and rich for the money. Very good to excellent length.”

– David Lawrason, WinerytoHome.com, April, 2011