Tacos and Wine: Pairings & Tips

Being a taco addict with a WSET Level 4 Diploma, it’s no surprise that tacos and natural wine are a match made in heaven for me. 

A few times when I’ve been at Mexican resorts, I remember having some samples of Mexican white wines and matching them with Palapa-style fish and seafood tacos. Come on, doesn’t it sound just heavenly?

Now, let’s dive deeper into how to make this match perfect every single time. 

One of the key things here is to match Mexican food to the wine you’d like to drink. Some foods can make your wine taste odd, too light or unpalatable. What are the key success factors?

1. Think about spiciness. As a rule of thumb, the spicier your food is, the lighter (by alcohol %) your wine should be. The reason is simple – spicy foods increase the perception of alcohol burn. So, stick with low alcohol wines when enjoying very spicy tacos. You can always decide to put more or less of your favourite Mexican hot sauces. Equally, avoid wine high in alcohol with spicy foods.
2. Think about balance. Some low alcohol wines can also be quite delicate and low in body. That creates a problem when matching to highly flavourful taco fillings like birria, barbacoa, chorizo and so on. That’s why fillings like chicken cochinita or chicken al-pastor maybe those better options to choose in order to balance the flavours.  

From my Georgian experience running Fiesta, I find it hard to find low alcohol red wines, but the kinds of Aladasturi and Tavkveri would be best. It’s easier with white wines – when going with more European styles of whites, you have a lot of choice – Tsitska works incredibly well as it has some tropical notes (Western Georgia), but even Tsinandali (Eastern Georgia) can be a good option. 

A note on amber wines – I find them to be matching amazingly with the heavily spiced foods, especially those with cumin (as many Mexican sauces and marinades actually are). Though it’s a challenge to find a low alcohol example. Turn to Western Georgia – hillsides and moderate climate have that potential. 

So when you are next considering devouring delicious tacos, consider natural wines too, not only beers or tequilas. Tacos and wine are such a treat!

Unfortunately, I don’t have access to the recent vintages of Mexican wines, but I remember from the International wine fairs that this industry is developing rapidly, together with the growing gastronomic scene in CDMX. So I’m expecting really good things to happen soon and looking forward to trying some new vintages of Mexican wines. Salud!

P.S. Tried new vintages of Mexican wines and have some suggestions? Hit me up!