You don’t have to be tucking into a fancy dinner to enjoy a nice bottle of wine. These days, wine is of, for and by the people and can be paired with just about anything. We asked local wine experts for recommendations for pairing spring and summer wines with snacks — from bites you can find at a gas station to small plates available at local restaurants.
With patio season upon us (thank God), now is the perfect time to crack open a fresh bottle of vino and pair it with something tasty.
Estadio’s Max Kuller
Make your way to Estadio for the perfect pairing: shrimp and sherry. Chef Alex Eaton is serving head-on white shrimp marinated in salsa verde made with mint, parsley and garlic pepper. The shrimp are finished with lemon juice, olive oil and maldon.
Estadio’s owner, Max Kuller, suggests pairing the shrimp with La Cigarrera Manzanilla Sherry from Sanlucar de Barrameda in Spain. “Expect sips that refresh, while heightening the subtle fruity and floral notes present in the wine and the crustacean.” he said.
Tippling House’s Matthew Conway
When it comes to warm-weather wines, Matthew Conway said he’s never been so excited about how many great affordable wine brands are currently available in Charleston, such as Combier, Graillot, Cecillon and Clusel-Roch. “The secret is these wines are great with a chill,” he said, adding that: “Syrah, when made the right way, can handle and shine with a crisp temperature that makes them great to drink year round in our hot climate.”
Spring is the perfect time for a current wine trend — chilled reds. Conway said that he and his team have had to expand the chilled red section at the Coming Street restaurant, The Tippling House. “We always have classics like Gamay from Beaujolais by the bottle and glass and we’ve added Syrah and even some Italian varieties like Pelaverga,” he said.
And when it comes to snacking, Conway has several recommendations. “I love crunchy, crisp, unoaked burgundy with Cheez-Its,” he said. “Grower Blanc de Blanc Champagne with buttered popcorn — the acidity with the butter is heaven. Chilled Northern Rhône Syrah with spicy beef jerky. Lean Provençal style rosé with pita and hummus.”
Sommelier Sarah O’Kelley
Conway isn’t the only fan of pairing Cheez-Its with wine: local somm Sarah O’Kelley likes to pair the cheesy crackers with her favorite white wine, Chenin Blanc.
“To me, Chenin has this cheesy quality on the nose and palate — so of course you should pair it with cheese, specifically a Cheez-It,” she said. “I do recommend a richer (rather than steely, austere) Chenin to go with the Cheez-It. I love those from Catherine and Pierre Breton, especially their La Dilettante Vouvray. Or also look for Domaine Plaisance. Her entry level Anjou Blanc is so amazing for the money!”
O’Kelley admitted she doesn’t typically seek traditional, prepackaged snacks for her pairings — she thanked her “health nut” upbringing for that — but if you’re going to grab a pint of spicy pimento cheese, then she’s got just the pairing for you.
“I’ve found that folks generally have skepticism around darker rosé, which is funny because folks these days love lighter reds (and these two categories are really not that different!). But I love a darker rosé, especially with anything spicy,” she said. Buy your dip from the store or check out O’Kelley’s recipe for the Lowcountry classic on her Grape to Table newsletter.
Not a pimento cheese person? Snag some Cajun boiled peanuts from your local gas station for another ideal dark rosé pairing. “Even my health nut mom let me eat those,” O’Kelley joked.
Wine & Co.’s Joshua Walker
When it comes to the perfect pairing, Wine & Co. owner Joshua Walker said to look no further than caviar and bubbles.
“For me, there’s no better pairing than the delicate, fresh salinity of caviar with the vibrant effervescence of sparkling wine,” he said. “Traditionally speaking, Champagne was the only right answer, but producers like Michael Cruse and Michel Salgues have changed my preference. Their U.S.-made sparkling wines have such a unique character — supple, full of verve and undeniably loud in the most delightful way. These bubbly wines create an exciting contrast to the caviar’s richness, simultaneously enhancing the flavor while cutting through its smoothness with acidity and lively texture.”
You can find caviar at a much wider range of stores, bars and restaurants than in years past. The traditionally luxurious dish is making its rounds in a variety of settings and atop quite a few dishes at local restaurants.
Walker recommended Polanco Caviar. “By making caviar more accessible and available for purchase at retail, they’ve opened up a new world of possibilities,” he said. “Now anyone can enjoy this delicious pairing in the comfort of their own home — making every sip of bubbly and bite of caviar feel like a special celebration.”
The team at Stems & Skins
Park Circle’s popular wine bar, Stems & Skins, has always embodied a snack-and-wine mentality, with a menu that features perfect small plates like Marcona almonds, marinated olives and kettle-cooked potato chips. This spring, head to the East Montague hotspot for octopus and olive skewers paired with a 2021 Cellar Pardas “Pur” Xarello from Penedès, Spain. The citrus, white flower and mineral elements of this wine make it an ideal pairing for octopus and briny olives.
Vern’s co-owner Bethany Heinze
Bethany Heinze, the co-owner and operations/beverage director of downtown’s Vern’s, said she’ll be drinking white wine with oysters this spring. Specifically, she noted oysters from CudaCo, shucked outside and served with a squeeze of lime or lemon. She recommended pairing the bivalves with “a salty, hazy, thirst-quenching white wine.”
“My hot weather favorite is the Vin des Potes x Jason Ligas ‘Greek Connection’ distributed by Mission Grapes, coming from the tiny island of Samos in Greece. The wine acts as a little sprinkle of sunshine and brine to amp up the salty seafood,” she said.
If you’re more of a landlubber, stick to Heinze’s other recommendations, which include grilled chicken wings (tossed in hot sauce, of course) with a “super light chilled red.” Heinze recommended a liter bottle of Finca Parera “Fins Als Kullons,” which she described as “an electric juicy juice rosé-meets-red from Penedes Spain with just the right amount of tart jazzy funkiness.”
Keep things really simple, too, with cold fried chicken from Publix paired with a Chenin Blanc PetNat, which Heinze said is an easy-going alternative to Champagne.
“My current favorite is the Jean-Pierre Robinot ‘Fetembulles’ from the Loire Valley in France, made by a natural wine legend,” she said. “Energy in a bottle!”
Herd Provisions’ wine director Kellie Holmes
Sommelier Kellie Holmes is pairing Herd Provisions’ meatball with green onion yogurt sauce with a Sangiovese this spring.
Sip on Italy’s Fattoria Di Sammontana Sangiovese, Trebbiano ‘Albarese,’ Rosso Toscano with chef Jeanne Oleksiak’s meatballs.
Holmes described the wine as a “unique, earthy, lighter bodied chillable red that will stand up to the richness of the meatball, but has enough acidity to pair well with the bright green zesty yogurt sauce.”
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