Teriyaki Chicken

Teriyaki Chicken

Teriyaki chicken is glazed in a glossy sauce of soy, mirin and sugar, sweet and salty with deep umami, so the wine needs a little fruit or sweetness to meet the glaze and low tannin so the umami does not turn it hard. Fruit-forward and supple is the way. Avoid firm tannin and oak.

Pairs Perfectly

A Pinot Noir, Marlborough, New Zealand. Light, bright and red-fruited with the softest tannin, it meets the caramelised glaze and sits easily with the soy.

Pairs Well

A Garnacha rosado, Navarra, Spain. A fuller, darker rosé with red-berry depth that flatters the sweet-savoury sauce, and it costs very little.

A Chenin Blanc from Vouvray, off-dry, France. Apple and quince with bright acid cut the richness and answer the sweetness of the glaze.

Avoid

Tannic, oaked reds, which turn metallic against the soy and clash with the sweet glaze.

Failing That

A Beaujolais, France.

If All Else Fails

Pinot Grigio, Italy.

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