Aug 11

Aug 11 Wine and Potato Chip Pairing

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Soooo I’ve actually been wanting to write a blog post about a wine and potato chip pairing for a while now. I hadn’t done it until recently, but the idea came to me a while ago when I was enjoying some rosé and snacking on some potato chips. They tasted so good together, I figured it could be the start of a fun little pairing! Again, leave it to “quarantine” to make us do all the little things we have been wanting to do, but never had time for. Hah!

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Anyway, my birthday was August 3 - a Monday this year, so we mostly celebrated on the weekend. I asked Nick if he could coordinate a little chip and wine pairing for my bday and he came through!! Our friends Kami and TJ set it up in their home and it was so fun. Seeing as we will be “at home” for the foreseeable future / don’t really see an end in sight, I thought it would be fun to share these pairings so you could participate too! This unconventional wine pairing is a fun way to have a small get-together, plan an activity with your family, or even host a virtual tasting with some friends.

Madewell Rainbow Marled Pullover Sweater (c/o) | Levi’s Jeans | Uncommon James Criss Cross Earrings | Cariuma Sneakers (c/o)

Okay let’s get into the details! We haven’t found a great wine shop nearby in LA - in Dallas we love to go to Pogo’s! Our best bets in West Los Angeles are Whole Foods or Bristol Farms. If we want to drive to Marina del Rey, we will go to Costco. Nick grabbed these 4 bottles from Whole Foods and all were under $40. One was under $20, two were under $30 and one was under $35. Don’t let my price-points scare you. If it is just an average day, our bottles are typically around $20. There’s one we have bought 3x from Whole Foods is called Los Conejos Malditos - it is usually $15 and we have been buying it on sale for $10. We aren’t about a certain priced wine…just about good wine. Buy the chips wherever you’d like! I believe Nick bought them at Whole Foods since he was already there. Trader Joe’s has some really fun chip options too! We did all kettle chips because they are so crunchy and good, but any kind of potato chips work well.

HERE’S OUR EXACT PAIRING:

Note that in a “normal” wine pairing your white wines should always be served first, but this isn’t a “normal” wine pairing andddd you can do whatever you want.

Pinot Noir with Barbecue Chips - I think this was my favorite pairing. It is well known that pinot pairs well with bbq chips so no surprise here. So yummy!
Pinot Grigio with Jalapeño Chips - Our pinot grigio had a bit of age, which is why it kind of looks like a rosé, though it tastes slightly like buttery like a chardonnay. The richness perfectly balanced the spicy chips! This would also pair well with the Trader Joe’s ghost pepper potato chips.
Priorat with Sour Cream and Onion Chips - You may or may not have heard of the Spanish grape priorat, but this pairing was so good and savory.
Sancerre with Regular Potato Chips - The Sancerre wine region is known for its sauvignon blanc. It’s “old world” which means it is called by its region versus “new world” where wine is called by its actual grape varietal like in Napa. This pairing was perfection.

OTHER PAIRING IDEAS:

I know, I know - Nick picked some non-typical wines, so I wanted to give you a couple more “basic” wines to pair with. Also note that they are really fun to try with other pairings! To be honest, I tried all the pairings twice to see which one was my favorite and then I cross-paired them to see if there were any other fun pairings. For example, I loved pairing the Sancerre with the jalapeño chips! I think that was my favorite non-pairing. All that to say, here are some other ideas to try!!

Rosé - I love this paired with a regular potato chip.
Chardonnay - For super savory pairing, try truffle potato chips. We love the ones from Trader Joe’s!
Sauvignon Blanc - I wanted to call this out even though I had a wine listed above that is made from sauvignon blanc grapes. Will pair great with jalapeño chips! Above we paired it with a regular potato chip. Salt and vinegar chips would work well too!
Malbec - Malbec is known to pair well with cheese, so maybe try out some cheddar and sour cream chips? Would go well with sour cream and onion chips too.
Cabernet Sauvignon - This would go so well with salt and fresh ground pepper potato chips!
Syrah - Try pairing this with barbecue chips.

Any requests for other pairings? Wine and corn/tortilla chips? Wine and cookies? Oh twist my arm why don’t ya ;) These things are so fun to try and test! Honestly right now I’m all about a wine/liquor spritzes. Perhaps I should do a little recipe post for those. I recently had the Adelaide at Fia and Afternoon Delight at 40Love and both were delightful! Less sweet than sangria and packed full of flavor!