Wine With…Chicken Tacos

Wine With. . . Chicken Tacos

by Paul Lukacs and Marguerite Thomas

Living on the east coast, we’ve long had an unfulfilled hankering for the kind of good, inexpensive Mexican fare that denizens of the west coast enjoy.  We were therefore thrilled when a tiny Mexican restaurant opened in our own Federal Hill neighborhood in Baltimore a couple of weeks ago.  It’s a true hole-in-the-wall, with zero charm, dirt cheap prices, hand-scrawled menus taped to the wall, and as far as we can tell this modest eatery doesn’t even have a name.  In other words, this could be the place of our dreams as long as the food is decent. 

Decent?  It turns out to be way beyond that, with fresh, non-greasy ingredients, gently (but not over abundantly) spiced. One order of chicken tacos was all it took to convince us that this restaurant is the place for us. ‘We’re going to get dinner here at least twice a week!’ one of us exclaimed.  On our second visit, we picked up a couple more orders of those tacos and brought them home to put to the test with wine.  Frankly, we were expecting a bit of a challenge, but as it turned out this may have been the most wine-friendly fare we’ve ever experimented with.  In keeping to the spirit of the low-cost food, we concentrated on value-fare wines, opening only selections in the $8 to $20 range, and covering the gamut from delicate sparkler to high-octane Zinfandel.  To our surprise, not one of the 16 wines we sampled was really jarring or mismatched with the tacos.  Since the most challenging aspect of this particular exercise was winnowing the field down to the top five contenders, the results are admittedly somewhat arbitrary. 

A squeeze of lime over the tacos added depth of flavor, which in turn brought out greater complexity in all the wines. Trials with various applications of hot sauce confirmed the truism that, in general, more heat in the food demands greater perceived sweetness in the wine, whether from fruitiness or from residual sugar.  We discarded the two non-sparkling rosés simply because they were unsatisfactory wines to begin with, as sticky sweet and characterless as soft drinks-but even these duds were better with the tacos than on their own.  At the other end of the spectrum we eliminated a couple of reds, including a Rioja, because their overt tannins were marginally less compatible with the food than somewhat softer red wines.  A big oaky Chardonnay and blowsy Viognier also were cut out to make room for other wines we found to be a shade tastier. 

If we had to pick a single favorite, the sparkler would be a top contender (Planning a summer party or wedding?  Think how affordable, simple and festive it would be to serve up a mess of chicken tacos along with flutes of pink fizz.)   Paradoxically, the Zin-so different a wine with all its depth and darkness–might be our frontrunner.  But then there is the Riesling . . .

Selection

Approx. Price

Comments

Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Valley (Washington) Dry Riesling 2006

  $12

Though labeled dry, this wine conveys a slight impression of sweetness while also exhibiting great balance.  Our tacos came with a wedge of lime, a squeeze of which right before taking a bite made for just about a perfect match.

Christine Andrew, Lodi (California) Tempranillo 2005

 $15

Seductively soft, this warm, rich red made a very satisfying partner for the tacos – in part due to the lack of astringent tannin, and in part because of the presence of so much ripe, sweet fruit.

Klinker Brick Winery, Lodi (California) Zinfandel ‘Old Vine’ 2004

 $16

An opulent but not hot Zin, this wine offers so much sweet fruit flavor that it almost seemed unbalanced when sipped on its own.  But with the tacos, it tasted just right, the briary berry fruit meshing seamlessly with the grilled chicken and hot sauce. 

McWilliam’s, South Eastern Australia (Australia) Shiraz 2005

(Imported by McWilliam’s Hanwood Estate)

  $12

Like all the reds that performed best with our take-out meal, this Down Under Shiraz impressed because of its sweet flavors and soft texture.  It’s not especially complex, but when enjoyed with the food rather than on its own, proved very compelling.

Mumm Napa, Napa Valley (California) Blanc de Noirs

NV

 $19

Champagne-styled bubbly with tacos?  Why not?  After all, we were looking for alternatives to beer (and soft drinks), the more common taco partners.  This fairly rich, berry-flavored sparkler definitely did the trick.  As with all the wines we’re recommending, its overt fruitiness proved very appealing.