Chicken tagine, a typical Maghreb dish

Tajine, before being a characteristic dish of the Maghreb, originally referred to the earthenware dish in which food was cooked. By extension, the tajine recipe took the same name. It was originally a Berber dish: a kind of stew in which meat and vegetables are stewed.

The pointed shape of the tagine dish’s lid has been designed to allow ingredients to be cooked without water, thus preserving all the flavours of the food. Steam from the food condenses on the lid and falls back onto the food, which is then moistened and flavored with spices. Food cooked in this way is particularly melt-in-the-mouth and tasty.

Tagine comes in a variety of sauces. There are chicken, beef and lamb dishes. For chicken tajine, which is softer on the palate, white wines are generally preferred.

Tagine is a spicy dish that calls for well-structured wines

The first wine we recommend pairing with a chicken tagine is a white Châteauneuf du Pape. This wine is a blend of many grape varieties, giving it richness and complexity. Emblematic of the Rhone Valley, this full-bodied, rounded wine will compliment the spices of the tagine.

Châteauneuf du Pape blanc is best drunk young, with aromas of citrus, exotic fruits, white flowers and white fruits, often brioche and slightly woody. In particular, it will delight a chicken tagine with preserved lemon.

Nevertheless, it can also be laid down, revealing aromas of nuts and dried fruit that will compliment a chicken tagine cooked with dried fruit, for example.

Secondly, we recommend choosing a Pouilly-Fuissé, a dry wine with character. This is a great Burgundy wine made from 100% Chardonnay grapes. It is round in the mouth and aromas of white flowers, dried fruit, citrus, white fruit and brioche. Thanks to its acidity and suppleness, it goes well with white meats such as chicken. The spices in the tagine will also reveal all its minerality. Pouilly-Fuissé is synonymous with a fine balance between freshness and opulence.

Last but not least, Corsican white wines with their spicy, citrus aromas also go perfectly with chicken tagine. They often bring notes of white flowers and exotic fruits.

Vermentino is Corsica’s great white grape variety. It’s the source of Corsica’s great dry white wines, with their distinctive floral, apple and almond aromas. He gives the wines great finesse and powerful, full-bodied aromas. produces fruity wines that are ideal for chicken tagine. Corsican wines are generally drunk young, but the grands crus have excellent ageing potential.