Wines For Fast Food
by Joshua Wesson
August 22, 1998

Wine consultant Joshua Wesson, owner of Best Cellars wine shop in New York, believes wine buyers should be guaranteed a great bottle at a great price. At his shop he groups the 100 or so wines not by grape type or region but by eight categories of taste – fizzy, fresh, soft, luscious, juicy, smooth, big, or sweet. Joshua also maintains there’s the right bottle to enjoy along with your favorite fast food and offers a few suggestions:

McDonald’s Big Mac: the "special sauce" is the standout here so look for a slightly sweet or off-dry wine such as White Zinfandel, Gewurztraminer, or a Chenin Blanc.

Taco Bell’s Spicy Gordita: people usually want to drink beer to cool off – a great idea – so look for "the stunt double" of beer – sparkling wine. It will cool your mouth before you take another bite of spicy food.

Chinese Take-Out Sweet & Sour Pork: look for a sweet/sour wine to match the sweet/sour sauce – a "cool climate" wine such as a Riesling from Germany, the United States, or Australia will be a "mind boggling" match!

Twinkie: a wine as sweet as the Twinkie is called for and the choice has to be Asti Spumante!

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