Good Morning!

This morning on the radio I heard them announce it is National Taco Day and my first thought was AWESOME, I LOVE TACOS! My next thought was who comes up with these National Days, Taco, Beer, Cabernet, Hamburger, pancakes, you name it they have a day for it and I for one will celebrate just about anything, but who picks the day for a National anything? Then my next thought is what wine goes with tacos?

My current favorite tacos come from a restaurant called Tiago’s in Texas and the Pork Chile tacos, well, they rock my world. The smoke the pork for hours and the meat is fantastic alone, but add the onions, cilantro and tomatoes and I treat them the same as you would a White Castle, just eating one after the other until I am stuffed. I normally pair them with a Cabo Wabo Margarita because the place has a crummy wine list.

But if I stick to my theory of pairing the sauces with the wine and not just get all focused on the meats in the taco, then I have some pairing ideas for your taco dinner tonight. I am not afraid of spicy heat at all, but I do take it easy when I am pairing wine with hot/spicy food, or I would end up drinking Riesling with everything…Spicy or hot food with a high alcohol wine or a really dry wine will intensify the heat, I just keep that in mind. If you like heat, knock yourself out.

Hear are my favorite pairings for each different kind of taco I have had:

Fish Tacos, since the fish is fried and there is some oil in the recipe, I like Prosecco or Cava or most anything that bubbles!

Shrimp Tacos, I love grilled shrimp with a crisp Rose’.

Chicken, I love my recipe for chicken tacos with a very sharp Sauvignon Blanc.

Beef, I prefer the beef not be ground beef, but it is sometimes and I can still hang with my favorite Rioja and beef tacos.

Pork, I like a fresh, young white, but I lean to unoaked Chardonnay, if you are looking for a brand on the internet to try, Find a winemaker named Cindy Cosco and her wines are Passaggio Wines. Order a case, I swear, Pork tacos and Roasted Chicken will never be the same after you have her wines with these dishes.

Veggie Tacos, go ahead and grill up some veggies and open a bottle of Vinho Verde, the veggies and the young white wine should be a great pairing.

These are my suggestions for wine on this National Taco Day. If all else fails, have a Margarita and get back to wine tomorrow! I have provided a couple of my favorite margarita photos today, just for some fun!

Enjoy!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi