Every year we like to make our Super Bowl drink picks for the most anticipated game of the year. Great comfort foods typically set the stage for the day and below we offer you a simple guide to wine/beer and spirits pairings for some of our favorite game day foods.
Mexican Food- Whether it be tacos, nachos or enchiladas, everybody loves Mexican food at a Super Bowl party. This year we are making up big batches of Spicy Oaxacan Paloma cocktails with Casamigos Mezcal (George Cluny’s favorite!). This cocktail, though less known to the American public is the favorite in Mexico. Casamigos Joven Mezcal has a subtle smokiness and is as good chilled neat as it is in a Paloma. Pop it in the freezer so if the desire to knock back a shot at halftime comes along, you will be ready! Check out the Spicy Oaxacan Paloma recipe from a previous post on our Blog.
BBQ- If there was ever a day to man the grill, it is Super Bowl Sunday. Whether it be ribs, chicken or brisket one thing is for sure, you have to have a bit of Bourbon to share with your audience while grilling. This year’s pick is an old sipping favorite, Elijah Craig Small Batch. It is ever so smooth and those sweet notes of corn marry to Kansas City style BBQ sauce (not playing favorites) and will be appreciated by fans of either team while hanging round the grill.
Our gameday picks for a good BBQ red wine is Pedroncelli Winery’s “Friends Red”. This juicy, jammy California red is a crowd pleaser at an affordable price. An all American blend of Sonoma County Merlot, Zinfandel and Syrah, the ripe fruit characters in this wine are perfect alongside BBQ.
Wings- Bust out your deep fryer and whip up a batch of Buffalo wings with a fresh blue cheese dressing to cool the flames. Beer is our go-to for wings but if you want a wine to enjoy alongside your Buffalo wings, we love Golden Pinot Noir from Monterey. It is fruity and soft enough to quench the thirst created by all that Frank’s hot sauce you pour into the sauce.
Fried Chicken- We have made our lives easy on a number of Super Bowl Sundays by whipping up a big batch of fried chicken in advance and letting the crowds dig in while we enjoyed the game without visiting the kitchen once. Alongside fried chicken we like a good buttery Chardonnay. The Atom, “Half-Life” Chardonnay is made in the definitive California Chardonnay lover’s style. Ultra-ripe, oaky, buttery and loaded with bakery spice this easy drinking Chardonnay is perfect with fried chicken as well as any grilled white meats that might be on your table any day of the week.
Pizza and Italian- Be kind to your pizza delivery driver, other than the quarterbacks they are possibly the hardest working men and women on Super Bowl Sunday. While a nice cold beer slides down well with Pizza we prefer a juicy red wine and being Super Bowl Sunday we want an All-American wine. Ancient Peaks Zinfandel from Paso Robles is a perfect partner to pizza and any Italian fare in red sauce. Good red Zinfandel has all the ripe fruit characters to pair with spicy tomato sauce and whatever toppings you can throw at them!
Steaks off the Grill- If you can tear yourself away from the halftime show, grill up some steaks and settle into dinner for the second half of the game. Nothing better than a well marbled rib-eye steak with twice baked potatoes and a great Cabernet Sauvignon on game day. This year we offer two great Cabernets for your consideration. The first is Twenty Rows Cabernet Sauvignon, a great North Coast blend (think a fusion of Napa and Sonoma fruit) that is loaded with big berry characters backed by hints of dusty cacao and firm but approachable tannins. The second is the 2016 Revana “Terroir Series” Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a super-premium, 92 Point Cabernet that has reached cult status among Napa Cab lovers for its incredible extraction of fruit, concentrated and layered complexity. The only challenge with serving this wine is you may concentrate more on the glass in front of you than the rest of the game.
The Brews
Beer and Super Bowl are like peanut butter and jelly. There is no bad beer pairing with any of the above, but it is a big world of brews out there and there are a whole lot of styles to choose from. Below we have a few suggestions for regional brews to support your favorite Super Bowl team.
Kansas City Fans ~Since 1989 Boulevard Brewing is Kansas City’s “go to” for Microbrews and we have their Boulevard Tank #7, an American Saison style that has always been known for its ability to pair with a wide variety of cuisines. It is a perfect Super Bowl sipper for the Chief’s fans.
San Francisco Fans~ When is San Francisco we drink Anchor Steam. This beer defined the style of “steam beers” and was one of the first micro-brews in America. Anchors Steam is a rich, copper colored brew with toasty malts and enough hops to keep things lively. It is so good you might find Chiefs fans defecting for a cold one.
Shop the Picks at your Favorite Bottle Stop Location, or Valley Discount Wine & Liquor in Ansonia or the Madison Wine Exchange!
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