Coq and bull story

Do you think that coq-au-vin is complex and time-consuming to make? I always thought this, but one glorious warm September day - perhaps our first lazy day since Cornwall - the gent and I royally trounced this myth. We started the day with brownie and banana bread for breakfast - with special thanks to HG, who bought them for me at the South bank 'Slow Food Fair' (probably on looking at my face which spoke of a work-home vortex of hell). Then, over the paper and after tending plants and clearing a cupboard, decided on the day's food.

Waitrose and Mrs I's garden provided. Lunch was Mrs I tomatoes, basil and salad from the windowsill, fig chutney - invented and made by the gent - two types of cheese, and baguette. The Cornish Nettle Yarg was amazing, rather subtle but with complexities: the strong and silent type, if you will. For fact fans, I just read that 3500kg of nettles are required by the Lynher Dairy for this cheesey purpose alone, each year:
http://www.lynherdairies.co.uk/press-releases.html

Preparing the coq was great. The gent read out Elizabeth David's stern advice on the subject (it isn't strictly necessary to use a cockerel, we were relieved to hear) and also Nigella Lawson's low fat version from 'How to eat'. She is much vaunted as the epitome of lush larding, but everyone forgets her low-cal roots. Anyway. We took the latter recipe, but left the skin on the chicken and chose streaky bacon etc. to re-lard the dish. Between us, it was no more work than any other stew or casserole, even with the flashy finishing touch of igniting brandy. Would it be vin-glorious to say it was completely delicious?

Discussion of the day: does it matter which wine you use to cook with? One school of thought suggests you shouldn't put it in the pot if you wouldn't drink it; whilst the other says you can't appreciate the wine properly once heated - so why waste the good stuff? We didn't - discuss - but I feel the gent and I fall fairly neatly either side of this divide! Thoughts on this very welcome...