I love entertaining and will throw a party for any reason. When Mike and I first started dating, I “hosted” a Super Bowl party for a few friends. I didn’t start the jalapeño poppers until after the first quarter… so let’s just say that the guys did a last-minute WingStop order at half time. 😅
Like so many other holidays and events, Super Bowl Sunday is different for many of us this year. We’re planning to cheer on our BFF Patrick Mahomes in our Texas Tech gear, just the two of us and a bottle of wine. I might make just one classic super bowl party food (jalapeño poppers?) depending on which wine we want to drink.
Jalapeño Poppers + Riesling
The secret to good jalapeńo poppers is to mix shredded cheese (Mexican blend or cheddar) into the cream cheese, and then not overlap your bacon so it all gets crunchy. This was the redeeming quality from my 2 hours too late attempt.
Jalapeños are spicy, and a lot of people will tell you to pair sweet with spicy for balance. Personally, I’m not a fan of sweet and I LOVE spicy, so for me, I reach for a drier Riesling. If you don’t like heat or prefer sweeter wines, there’s plenty of great Rieslings!
KungFu Girl Riesling is surprising solid for under $10 a bottle. I’ve even found this one at Target before:
Wings + Rosé
I feel like everyone is either team spicy wings, or team sweet wings. Which is unfortunate because sweet and spicy flavor profiles can be difficult to pair with wines. I cheated a little bit with picking rosé here, but:
Pair teriyaki and BBQ wings with a sweeter rosé. I’m not a big fan of “sweet” wine in general, but a good not-too-sweet pick is Erath Winery Oregon Rosé:
Pair buffalo wings (mild – extra, extra hot) with a drier rosé.
Pair those delicious garlic/parm boneless fried chicken “wings” with a sparkling rosé, like Underwood Rosé Bubbles:
Yes, it’s in a can, and yes it’s actually pretty good. Your normal super bowl beers with the boys just got upgraded. You’re welcome.
Pizza + Sangiovese
This rings true to the “what grows together, goes together” theme as Sangiovese and pizza both hail from Italy. Sangiovese is a medium red (AKA you Cab lovers and Pinot fans can share a bottle) and the tannins pair well with red sauce and cheese.
My pick would be from our fellow West Texans, McPherson Cellars:
Of course, not all pizza is the same. Sangiovese will be your best universal bet for the Super Bowl pizza spread, but consider Chardonnay if you prefer white wines. If you’re ordering pineapple on your pizza, just go ahead and drink Pinot Grigio with that. And maybe drop a comment below because I have so many questions about your life choices.
BBQ + Texas Red Blends
We live in Austin, where Texas Hill Country BBQ reigns supreme. I won’t get into a fight with our fellow Chiefs fans about Kansas City style BBQ… but it feels unholy to pair Texas BBQ with anything other than a Texas wine.
Another nod to my friends at McPherson Cellars, Tre Colore, is a blend of three grapes you may not have heard of: Cinsault, Counoise and Viognier. The result is a Rhone-style blend — smoky, with notes of cherry, berries and plum. It’s dry, but bold and holds up to anything grilled, BBQ’d, slathered in sauce or smoked:
Nachos + Sauvignon Blanc
Sauv Blanc is great with all of the dips — guac, salsa, pico de gallo, queso — which is why I also reach for this bottle when it comes to nachos, because nachos are really just dips + melty cheese and meat. Sauv Blanc is crisp, cold, it cuts through the glorious greasiness of nachos and almost makes you think you’re eating something healthy.
My favorite Sauv Blanc is Locations NZ:
I really love Dave Phinney’s Locations label in general (more to come on that!) Kia Ora Marlborough Sauv Blanc is a solid under $10 pick for sauv blanc.
After the Win:
OFC when the Chiefs win, we’re popping Argyle Bubbles:
