Wine and Tex-Mex Dishes
Last week for Cinco de Mayo, I made some amazing Tex-Mex inspired recipes from one of my Dallas favorites – The Defined Dish!
I wanted to share the pairings on my blog for future reference and to dive into a little more detail about WHY these wines pair so well with each of these dishes.
Crunchy Baked Turkey Tacos and Rioja
Let’s start with the Rioja and the Crunchy Baked Turkey Tacos!
This is a Spanish red wine from the Rioja region, made from 100% Tempranillo grapes and just so happens to be one of my go-to red wine choices! Well-balanced and medium bodied with good acidity and medium tannin, this red-fruit forward wine pairs really well with just about anything. I chose this for the turkey tacos because it is a light enough red wine to not overpower the lightness of the turkey (it would also hold up well to ground beef though!) and the bright acidity complements the acidity from the tomato elements used in the meat and for topping off this taco.
Chips & Guacamole with Clare Valley Riesling
Next up, everyone’s FAVORITE appetizer – Chips and Guacamole, paired with a Clare Valley Riesling!
I recently discovered this Clare Valley Riesling thanks to my WSET 2 course and instantly fell in love with this dry, acidic white wine. I knew this would be the perfect pairing for this appetizer because the saltiness of the chips and the guacamole pairs nicely with the high acidity of this wine. Salty foods make acidic wines taste slightly less acidic, resulting in the wine tasting smother. The green fruit and citrus notes of this delicious wine (especially the lime!) were the perfect complement to the lime flavors in the guacamole and would be the perfect patio pair!
Sour Cream and Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas with New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
For the next pairing, let’s talk about my all-time favorite summer wine, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, and one of my favorite dishes – Sour Cream and Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas.
For chicken dishes, light white wines are almost always the better choice. This Sauvignon Blanc is light and acidic with Green Fruit and Citrus flavors that matched up really nicely with the Salsa Verde used in this recipe, making this light and bright pairing perfect for summer dinners!
Steak Tacos & Argentinean Malbec
And finally, I paired steak tacos with a delicious Argentinean Malbec.
This wine is elegant with soft tannins and fruit forward flavors that help to downplay the heat of this dish. However, it’s still a full-bodied red that can hold up to the big flavors of a steak. The spicy notes on the finish truly made this wine the perfect match for these flavorful steak tacos.
