The French classic coq au vin, or chicken fricasseed with stock and wine, long ago cognated into the international culinary vernacular. Here it's presented, with Cincinnati antecedents, using native Ohio Catawba wine instead of the traditional red Burgundy.
   Our eponymous Nicholas Longworth, called "Father of Ohio Wine", was a Cincinnati lawyer who a hundred and fifty years ago lived in a great Greek revival mansion, now home to the Taft Museum of Art, and had extensive Catawba grape plantings above the Ohio River on the hills of what is now Eden Park. The entire valley was nicknamed "The Rhineland of America" and Longworth's wines were world famous. However, the Civil War, a general lack of skilled manpower for the vines, and an ignorance of our modern horticulture soon brought about the demise of Longworth's hegemony. He sold his remaining viticultural assets to Meier's, ten miles north of Cincinnati at Silverton.
   Today, Meier's remains Ohio's oldest and largest winery. The chief plantings have long since moved to the more hospitable climate of North Bass Island (aka Isle St. George), in Lake Erie. In 1993, Meier's Catawba Wine was awarded a Double-Gold Medal for excellence in the august San Francisco International Wine Competition. Not only was this a major coup for Ohio wines, but a democratic revolution inasmuch as it was that major wine event's first ever award given to a screw-cap bottling!
   This is a much beloved recipe in our cooking classes at Meier's. Enjoy this with buttered noodles, and lots of the famous Meier's Walleye White!

(Serves 6, generously)

     2  broiling chickens, each cut into 2 breast halves, 2 legs, 2 thighs, and 2 wings
     8  ounces unsmoked bacon, thickly sliced and cross-cut into 1/4 inch pieces
     8  ounces fresh shiitake or portabella mushrooms, stems discarded, sliced
     1  large shallot, minced
     2  cloves garlic, peeled and minced
     1/2 cup flour, for dredging
     salt and freshly ground black pepper
     1/2 cup Colonial Club or LaSalle brand Apricot and Brandy
     12  boiling onions, peeled with a cross cut into the root end
     a bouquet garni consisting of a bay leaf, 2 parsley sprigs, 3 sprigs fresh thyme
     (or 1 teaspoon dried leaf thyme) and 2 cloves, tied in dampened cheesecloth
     2  tablespoons tomato paste
     1 1/2 cups Meier's Pink or White Catawba wine
     1 1/2 cups rich veal or chicken stock
     butter and vegetable oil
     a slurry made by blending 2 tablespoons potato starch, or Wondra flour,
     with 3 tablespoons water
     minced fresh parsley, for garnish

   Crisp the bacon pieces in an ovenproof casserole or Dutch Oven, in a generous mixture of butter and oil. Remove the bacon pieces from the fat with a slotted spoon. Reserve bacon on a paper towel.
   Very lightly flour the chicken pieces, by shaking them, with the flour, in a paper bag. Brown the chicken pieces in the mixture of bacon dripping, butter, and oil. Then flame the chicken in the Apricot Brandy. Then, cover and sweat the chicken, over low heat, for about 10 minutes. Remove the chicken pieces to a plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper; reserve. Add the boiling onions to the pan and brown them. Remove onion and reserve.
   Pour all of the browning grease out of the pan and replace with a single tablespoon of fresh butter. In it, lightly sauté the shallot and garlic, taking care that they do not burn. Add Catawba wine and stock to the pan, scraping any encrusted meat juices from the inside of the pan, into the sauce. Stir in the tomato paste and add the bouquet garni. Return the chicken pieces, the bacon, and the onions to the sauce. Cover and simmer 30 minutes over medium-low heat, or bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven.
   While the chicken is braising, lightly sauté the mushrooms in a tablespoon of butter. Reserve. When the chicken has braised 25 minutes, add the mushrooms to the casserole and simmer an additional 5 minutes.
   After the full 30 minutes of simmering, using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken pieces, mushrooms, and onions to a warm platter. Lightly drape with foil and keep warm. Over high heat, reduce the sauce by 50%. Thicken with the slurry, adding it gradually until the desired thickness is reached. Simmer an additional 5 minutes, then spoon over the platter of chicken. Sprinkle with minced fresh parsley. Serve at once.