Sommelier Laura Santander @laurisantander gave us her best tips and recommendations for pairing Nochiola snacks with wines.
Who is Laura Santander?
Laura Santander is a consultant sommelier at Wine Advisor, she is related to the world of beverages and focused on consulting wines for restaurants. Laura is a Tequila Master and recipient of awards such as: La Nariz de México, Sommelier of the year 2019, Judge of the Brussels World Contest.
“Each bottle of wine is a story to tell. I am very excited because we are going to try and pair all the Nochiola snacks”
Why is it so important to drink wine?
Laura Santander: Wine has a substance known as resveratrol that is part of the polyphenols. It is what makes us perceive astringency. When we drink wine, resveratrol has the ability to lodge in the superficial layers of the skin. This means that free radicals will collide with that layer of resveratrol (which when drinking wine) lodges in our skin. That is why it is good to drink wine and preferably red because in red we will have a greater amount of resveratrol. In addition, the polyphenols in wine are also good for the heart. That is why creams that have grape seed or red wine do help anti-aging.
What are pairings?
Laura Santander: The word pairing comes from the French mariage which means marriage or marriage and that is exactly what is sought in a pairing, the wine that perfectly complements a dish. Pairings are super important. It is when you choose a food and a wine achieving a good pair. Some of the most traditional pairings are cheeses with sweet wines or fish with white wines or meats with red wine.
1.- Acidity. Whenever we talk about pairings we have to consider the acidity (it is what makes us salivate).
2.- Astringency . It is the sensation of dryness that we have when drinking wine.
PAIRINGS WITH WINES AND NOCHIOLA
"Pairings are made to highlight all foods. That's why I'm going to show you what are the pairings that go super well with Nochiola's snacks." -Laura Santander
Night apple
Pairing: Chablis wine from France
Laura Santander: When eating the apple we will find sweet flavors and a slight acidity. That is why we will need a wine that has the same expressions as the apple. Chablis is made from chardonnay grapes, this grape will give us an apple flavor and the acidity we need to pair it.
Amaranth churritos with chia Nochiola
Pairing: Sauvignon blancÇ wine
Laura Santander: I have to confess that this is the pairing that cost me the most work because they are a snack that tastes salty but also has a slight acidity. I chose the sauvignon blanc because it is an aromatic grape that makes you think of green notes (jalapeño, freshly cut grass, grass) it is an acid wine with citrus and refreshing touches. That is precisely the freshness needed for the crunchy part of these Nochiola amaranth fritters that pair wonderfully with wine.
Amaranth churritos with piquín Nochiola
Pairing: Chilean Carmenere grape wines
Laura Santander: This pairing is a bit crazy because it's difficult. I chose a Chilean Carmenere grape for the pyrazines (spicy poblano-like notes). That is why we have to choose a powerful wine that gives it an extra flavor. In fact, my recommendation is that you try to buy a cheap carmenere because it will have a greater amount of pyrazines.
Coconut Nochiola
Pairing: Napa Valley Chardonnay Wines
Laura Santander: I was not a big fan of coconut until I tried the Nochiola coconut. Because in this version the earthy and sweet part of the coconut is awakened. Mexicans remind us of the flavor of cocadas. These fascinate me because they are styled like crispy chips.
This is probably the most predictable pairing of all. We're pairing it with a Napa Valley Chardonnay (same grape as Chablis, different wine). Napa Valley chardonnay wines have much more volume. When you try them you immediately feel how they fill your mouth. This coconut precisely needs a more present and barrel-aged wine. And precisely the American barrel from this region of the United States has many aromatic qualities of coconut.
Chili Mango Nochiola
Pairing: Verdejo wine from Rueda, Spain
Laura Santander: My favorite fruit in the world is mangoes. I chose to pair the Nochiola enchilada mango with a Spanish wine that is from a region called Rueda and the Verdejo grape; This grape is tropical which means that it has notes of mango, lychee, papaya, passion fruit, soursop and kiwi among many other tropical fruits. And precisely the Verdejo grape wines from Rueda have a load of mango when pairing them. When we pair something with chili, it is good to have an aromatic and smooth Verdejo grape in the mouth so that it can accompany spicy food. I'm going to pair it with El Gordo del Circo.
SWEET WINES AND NOCHIOLA SNACKS
Now we are going to enter a very popular pairing, that of sweet wines. We usually ask ourselves if sweet wines are for dessert or are they dessert. For me, they are dessert. By this I mean that when a sweet wine is on the table, we have to give it the right place. When pairing a sweet wine, the first thing we have to consider is that the dessert has to be less sweet than the wine, otherwise it will turn sour. The rule is that the wine is always sweeter than the dessert.
Date with walnut and pineapple Nochiola
Pairing: Port, sweet wines, ice wine, Pedro Jiménez and sherry
Laura Santander: The wine must be sweeter than the date. Whenever we talk about a sweet wine. Pineapple is also a very good option for sweet wine because it can give a pineapple honey sensation. I will give the example of Chateau D'yquem , the most expensive wine in the world. It is a wine that you must try. He is the father of the chicks. I recommend sherry because of the level of oxidation it has, which gives us dry flavors, try dates, for example, with a Tío Pepe .
Nochiola anti-stress mix
Pairing: Zinfandel wine
Laura Santander: There are wines that taste like nuts, wine and cocoa, precisely those wines are ideal for pairing this mix. They have to choose a wine that has a lot of barrels and is very compote (that the condition of the fruit that is perceived is pulling towards jam, dehydrated fruit) with this we want the wine to have many notes of compote like Gnarley Head . The important thing about this particular wine is that it is planted in a warm place and that will give us the flavor of the fruit cooked in the wine. This is a super winning pairing.
Chillied Beet Nochiola
Pairing: Bordeaux wine
Laura Santander: Beetroot is a complex fruit to pair with because when it's fresh it's sweet but when it's dehydrated the flavor changes and it also has chili. That's why I decided to pair it with a Bordeaux wine. Cabernet Sauvignoc, Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot wines. These wines have a very important characteristic that Americans define as organic , meaning they are very earthy. That is why we are going to pair it with the beet to respect the earthy part of the tuber.
Chilli Sweet Potato Nochiola
Pairing: Mexican red wine (from Valle de Guadalupe)
Laura Santander: I dare to pair these sweet potatoes with a powerful Mexican red wine from Valle de Guadalupe because the sweet potato is a chip with a lot of flavor and what we want is something that has the same level of flavor.”