Guinea fowl

Guinea fowl

Assuming roast guinea fowl with bacon, mushrooms and its roasting juices.

Guinea fowl is richer and more gamey than chicken but still lean, so it wants a red of light to medium body with fresh acidity and fine tannin, and an earthy note for mushrooms and bacon. Big, tannic reds dry out lean meat, and most whites lack the depth for the gamey flavour.

Pairs Perfectly. Pinot Noir, Marsannay, Burgundy, France. Red cherry, raspberry and a savoury, earthy edge on silky tannin, which meets the gamey meat and the mushrooms. Marsannay is the value end of the Côte de Nuits.

Pairs Well. Nebbiolo, Langhe, Piedmont, Italy. Rose, red cherry and tar with bright acidity and firm but fine tannin, a lighter Nebbiolo and good value.

Pairs Well. Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, California, USA. Riper cherry and a little spice on soft tannin, good with bacon and roasting juices.

Worth Seeking Out

Trousseau from the Jura, France. Pale, wild and savoury with gentle spice, a light red made for game birds and mushrooms.

Avoid

Big, tannic, oaky reds and light whites. Heavy tannin dries out lean meat and light whites are lost against it.

Failing That

A Chianti Classico, Tuscany.

If All Else Fails

Pinot Noir, Central Otago.

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