West Valley Wine Group

While some of us need no convincing, there are several good reasons to pair wine and potato chips. First, salty foods make you reach for your glass—it’s the logic behind serving caviar with dry Champagne or pretzels with beer. Potato chips also come in an array of flavors that can complement different wine styles and varieties.

Classic, unflavored potato chips with Champagne are an especially popular pairing. “When you have something on the palate that is bubbly with bright acidity like Champagne, it literally feels crunchy, so the crunch of the potato chip and the crunch of the bubble play off each other,” says Julie Dalton, wine director at Stella’s Wine Bar at Houston’s Post Oak Hotel.

She encourages wine and chip lovers to go beyond the expected, too. For instance, spicy Buffalo wing-inspired chips have complex flavors to stand up to similarly nuanced wines, she says, like a Riesling spätlese from Germany’s Mosel region.
“Spätlese Mosel Rieslings tend to have more sugar, so you will get some sweetness, but then there’s a bunch of really cool mineral notes along with that little hint of stony petrol from the Riesling and that go really well with the blue cheese flavor,” says Cole-Nicholson. The cheese and wine both have strong, earthy notes, she says, “that just make that pairing sing.”

Wine pairings exist for all types of chips and are an accessible way to explore complementary flavors. If Champagne or Mosel Riesling sounds a little rich for your blood, swap in an affordably priced Prosecco or off-dry white wine to pair with plain or spicy chips.
“Wine can be a little intimidating, but at the end of the day it’s chips and wine; it doesn’t have to be complicated,” says Cole-Nicholson. “Just have fun with it and enjoy. And try not to do what I do and eat the whole bag.”

We have a choice of videos to watch including:

1. https://youtu.be/3NUjrJCExas?si=yZ3VfQtz_B2QhhIH - How To Pair Wine and Chips Like a PRO - VinePair (4:29)
2. https://youtu.be/GOz7vpoL42o?si=sph5LGVH_SIK4IDs - How to Pair Wine and Potato Chips| Wine Pairing Tips - Wine Girl Academy (1:24)
3. https://youtu.be/gOqr-oIDotU?si=xJqoBlBJmAW5e6nI - Wine Chips are the perfect pairing with a glass of wine - Fox 17 (6:18)

So, pick up a bottle and watch a couple of videos. Let us know what you’re drinking and eating, and, if possible, the region from which your wine comes. Do you have any comments (positive or negative) about the videos? And, as always, tell us what’s going on in your life - what's happening with you, how you're feeling about things, updates, successes, challenges - as much or as little as you’re willing to disclose. We are in this together. And - thank goodness - we have wine!

Cheers!!