11 hours ago
For a fun evening with wine and crisps, York Gin's distillery has it in the bag!
I never really thought of crisps and wine going together, believing it sounded a little vulgar.
I recall the 'pop and crisps' of my childhood, which later evolved into a packet of Cheese and Onion often going nicely with a pint.
But anyway, the chance to learn that crisps do go with wine, and can be paired appropriately, to boost the taste of both made for an informative and most enjoyable evening.
York Gin has partnered with Emma Moore, the Wine Lady, for the novel and fun tasting events at their new distillery at Middletons Hotel, Skeldergate.
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First, our palettes were cleansed with York Gin's Emma Godivala giving everyone a sample of their new Rutterkin rum, which was smooth and flavoured with a hint of chocolate and orange, to reflect York's history.
The other Emma, the Wine Lady, then came round with glasses of a sparkling wine and told us to open out packet of Walker's Salt and Shake.
Emma Moore brings out the Pringles (Image: Darren Greenwood)
Emma has been trained in wine, as well as beer, including what to pair with what.
Wine on its own is good, so are crisps on their own, but matched well can 'elevate both,' she said.
Whilst people have different palettes, you don't want one to overpower the other, she explained. So a pinot grigio won't pair with a strong curry.
Now, the sparkler turned out to be cava and the salt in the crisps made the wine taste 'smoother and better,' a view agreed by most of the dozen or so present.
This was true for other made in the champagne method, including German Sekt and French crémant.
Nigel Bairstow is having bags of fun (Image: Darren Greenwood)
Out came the cheese and onion with another white, a French chardonnay. Many wine drinkers don't go for chardonnay, but we found it paired well with cheese and onion crisps.
The third wine was an aromatic, that was paired with very spicy sweet chilli and sour cream flavour Kettle chips. However, people felt the spiciness of these chips took away the sweetness of the wine that turned out to be an Italian Gewurztraminer, with many preferring the wine by itself.
Aromatic wines, Emma said, can be hard to pair, but they tend go well with Thai and other Asian flavours.
Prawn Cocktail Skips came next and we learnt darker roses pair best and all agreed they brought out the best in each other.
Wine number five was a light-bodied pinot noir from New Zealand, which went well with vegetable crisps. And on a hot day, a little chilling will also boost its flavour.
Finally, out came the Texas BBQ Pringles, which was paired with a full-flavoured, full-bodied Appassimento from Italy.
Most saw this pairing as the best of the night, with the full-flavour of the wine able to take on the bbq flavours- the same we were told would be true of Primativo and California Zinfandel.
Either way, Emma advised us all to experiment with flavour at home and have fun. We all received tasting notes to take home to guide us.
And fun we had certainly had.
The evening has changed Jo Hird's way of thinking (Image: Darren Greenwood)
Nigel Bairstow, a 'big fan of York gin,' said: 'It was a lovely, superb evening. I am so glad I came. I learnt a lot.'
Jo Hird said: 'It was fantastic, a really enjoyable evening', saying Emma helped people see how they could taste the difference.
Jo added: 'It (the crisps) completely and utterly changed the way the wine tasted. It was fascinating, an eye-opener. It will change the way I look at wine in the future.'
Now, the other Emma, York Gin's Emma Godivala, told the Press: 'I thought the evening was enjoyable, informative, surprising and useful, showing how wines can change. It shows people how to complement and elevate your everyday glass of plonk.'
Others present agreed, myself included. Dare I say for a fun and recommended night out, the two Emmas have it in the bag. There will be further evenings with wine and crisps and in several weeks time, an evening pairing crisps with beer.
For details and to book, go to:
