Wine and chips because why not?
“Red wine with red meat,” says the conventional, oversimplified wisdom. But this week’s enlightenment came not with meat but a simple tortilla chip.
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The other day, toward the end of a meal with this week’s featured wine, I idly picked up a yellow-corn chip, munched it, then took a sip of this deliciously light and fruity Languedoc red wine.
Whoa.
Expecting nothing, I had unknowingly stumbled upon a wine-and-food flavor explosion that ranked among some of my most memorable matching experiences.
The wine, Domaine d’Aupilhac 2022 Lou Maset Languedoc Rouge, is a typical Languedoc red blend of Grenache and Cinsault, with other red varieties. It was bright and refreshing, complex without being brooding. It’s a quality wine made for immediate enjoyment in the style of the quaffable reds that vineyard workers might gulp after a long day working among the vines under the hot Mediterranean sun.
The thick, deeply corn-flavored treats at Louisville’s El Mariachi, fashioned on the premises from fresh-made tortillas, are positively addictive. They’re so crunchy that I had to look twice to persuade myself that they weren’t lightly breaded before they were fried.
The chip was good but nothing really special: A Kroger Gold Round tortilla chip, made – to its manufacturer’s credit – from a simple ingredient list comprising ground yellow corn, vegetable oil, salt, and nothing more. It’s billed as gluten-free, kosher, natural, no added sugar, no artificial ingredients, sugar-free, pescatarian, vegetarian, and vegan, oh my. A one-ounce serving – 9 chips – contains a mere 140 calories (if you can eat only nine) and provides 6% of your daily sodium quota.
Most important, besides being delightfully crunchy, the flavor of these chips is, well, within the same ballpark or soccer field as good, fresh, Mexican corn tortillas. Their distinct corn and salt flavor puts me in a taqueria mood, and their shattering crunch hits that happy place that makes crunchy snacks addictive.
Okay, fine. But how do I explain their unexpected affinity for Domaine d’Aupilhac 2022 Lou Maset Languedoc Rouge? That’s a tougher call, but I’ll speculate that the wine’s fresh and juicy cherry-berry and spice flavors work and play well with the earthy, salty, corn-scented chip; its relatively moderate tannins don’t fight with the saltiness of the chip; and the wine’s fresh, bright acidity cuts through the oil that’s an undeniable part of tortilla chips’ appeal.
It’s hard to explain, but it works in a way that’s perhaps akin to the known and loved affinity between sparkling wine and popcorn.
The moral of today’s fable is pretty simple: Wine lovers often associate wine with elegance and fancy fare, from Champagne and caviar to Burgundy and a perfectly rare Wagyu ribeye. But wine can be casual and fun, too, as down-to-earth as, well, a bowl of crunchy chips.
Today I’m celebrating an unexpected affinity between wine and a tortilla chip. Tell us about a wine and snack food match that you love!
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