I tried the compare-and-contrast cookery game that Jenise Stone suggested yesterday, making a few alterations in the original recipe but sticking with the basic premise of using an easy marinade on two small chickens, with all variables held constant except for the wine.

Because they were available at a local specialty grocer, I used two fat poussins (French hens, actually frozen free-range birds from South Carolina) in place of Cornish hens; and rather than oven-roasting them in this midsummer heat wave, I decided to split and butterfly them and grill them over charcoal instead.

In the interest of adding flavor, I chose an Italian Asti Spumante (Fontanafredda) as the sparkling wine and, seeking a similar balance of light sweetness and citric flavors, an inexpensive California Gewurztraminer (Fetzer) for the still wine.

The marinade is quick and simple: Cut out the backs of two small birds, Cornish hens or poussins, flatten them, and place each one in a bowl with two sprigs each of fresh thyme and fresh rosemary, two fat crushed garlic cloves, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour one cup of wine into each (which proved to be just about enough to cover them fully. Marinate refrigerated for at least six hours. (Being the obsessive type in the kitchen, I turned them three or four times during this period, although I'm not sure this makes much difference.)

After marinating, pat dry and grill over hot coals, placing them briefly skin-side down and turning them 90 degrees after a minute or two to get a criss-cross pattern; then move to indirect heat, just away from the coals, and grill for 20-30 minutes or until just done, turning frequently to avoid charring. I split them down the middle partway through cooking, partly to facilitate quick cooking and partly so we could each share one half of each bird to compare the two marinades. (I marked one bird by wrapping a bit of picture-hanging wire around the tip of its drumsticks, so the test wasn't "blind" for me, but it was for my wife.

As a last-minute invention, I created a sweet-hot grapefruit compote, thinking it would compliment both the marinade wines as well as the wines I planned to serve with the meal: Put 1/2 cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, the juice of one lime, a shot of hot sauce and a "coin" of fresh ginger in a small skillet and boil until it's reduced to 50 percent of its original volume and slightly thickened. Put in 1 cup grapefruit segments and let cool to room temperature.

As an accompaniment, I also grilled Japanese eggplant halves slathered with good olive oil for the last 15 minutes of grill time.

THE RESULTS: Somewhat to my surprise, the two finished birds appeared visibly different, the one marinated in Asti being darker, with the darkest areas blackish-brown in contrast with the reddish-brown dark spots on the still-wine-marinated bird. It also tasted sweeter, both variables suggesting that the Asti contained more residual sugar, even though the Asti didn't taste sweeter in the glass. The Asti-marinated bird also seemed plumper and a bit more tender, especially in the breast meat. My wife, tasting them without knowing which was which, said she found the distinctions quite obvious, even though both birds were very good. My non-blind conclusions were the same.

As noted above, we served the dinner with two wines: It was perfect with the Alderbrook Gewurztraminer (rich and dry); a little less pleasing with the Evolution No. 9, which I frankly found bland and rather boring. The Asti and the Fetzer were both better for cooking than drinking.