The Perfect Wine Pairings For 5 Potato Chip Flavors

Potato chips come in all different flavors and textures, from thin and crispy to thick and ridged to whatever that weird potato extrusion is that they use to make Pringles and their knockoffs. One thing nearly all chips have in common, however, is that they're salty, and salt makes us thirsty. This means that chip and beverage pairings aren't so much a nicety as a necessity, and while some go for soda and others prefer beer, wine connoisseurs are likely to lobby for their favorite beverage. Such is the case with master sommelier Catherine Fallis of Planet Grape Wine Review who shared her recommendations for which wines go with different chip flavors with us.

Fallis tells us, "I love high-low pairings in general" and feels that opting for fermented grape juice with potato chips "bring[s] the pairing to a more sophisticated, upscale level" than would be the case with soda or beer. That being said, she doesn't insist that you choose only the finest of wines. For herself, she says, "I might opt for something [other than chips] to pair with the fancier wine that would really showcase it," but then again, if you'll be accompanying your potato chips with caviar (or you've managed to acquire a bag of caviar-flavored chips), you might as well break out the Dom Perignon.

Not every potato chip flavor is for everybody – cocktail-flavored chips, for example, won't be a hit with non-drinkers, while haggis chips may be a hard sell outside of Scotland. Plain potato chips, on the other hand, have universal appeal as they taste of grease and salt in their purest forms. In Catherine Fallis' opinion, "Plain chips go with almost any white or rosé, still or sparkling wine."

Classic potato chips are particularly well-suited for wines on the acidic side, including sauvignon blanc and riesling, since the refreshing tang of the tart wine helps cut through the oil. They also work well with wines that can be bitter, like oaky chardonnays, since the salty chips help to counteract the wine's astringency, but they can also contrast nicely with a sweeter sparkler like an off-dry prosecco. Not only is bubbly wine fun to drink with crunchy chips, but the sugary drink can offset the salty snack like a more sophisticated version of Sprite or 7UP.

Classic chips also make the perfect snack to serve at a wine tasting. Due to the fact that they are pretty plain, they can be used to refresh the palate between sips of different wines.

Barbecue chips were sweet and salty before this flavor mashup was cool. While these chips are generally not too spicy, at least not in the heat sense of the word, they do contain different seasonings such as garlic, onion, and smoke flavoring, which gives them a taste that Catherine Fallis describes as "bold." Her feeling is that they'd do well with a light, fruity Spanish white wine called albariño or an Italian white called vermentino. As the latter has been compared to sauvignon blanc, you could also go with that variety.

Of course, you needn't stick with white wine for barbecue chips, since their flavor profile of sugar and spice makes them well suited for red wines, as well. As the chips bring plenty of sweetness to the pairing, drier reds like zinfandels or pinot noirs would work well, as would a more medium-dry merlot. If you've got a real sweet tooth, though, you could pair barbecue chips with a sweet rosé since such a wine would highlight the honey and sugar flavors in the chips.

Salt and vinegar chips can be a bit tricky to pair with wine since they have a flavor that's much more intense than either the classic or barbecue kind. In Catherine Fallis' opinion, "Salt and vinegar calls for a brisk, tangy Northern Italian white such as pinot grigio." A slightly tart wine such as sauvignon blanc is also a good pick, since although this may seem counter-intuitive, it can actually work to temper some of the sourness from the vinegar. The opposite is also true, since eating these chips with this wine can make the latter taste a bit sweeter and more fruity. Yet another potential partner for salt and vinegar chips would be a dry rosé as this type of wine, too, has some tartness to it.

Whatever you pick to go with salt and vinegar chips, this is no time for a fine wine because the subtler notes of any style or vintage would be buried beneath the chips' much stronger flavor. If you've got any bottles of Two Buck Chuck or Winking Owl on hand, though, these could make the perfect chip chasers.

Sour cream and onion chips, in comparison to salt and vinegar ones, tend to have a much milder tang with just a bit of pungency. Catherine Fallis recommends serving them with sauvignon blanc, explaining that "the herby flavors in both creat[e] a flavor bridge." The chips also work well with chardonnay, a white wine that goes great with onions in general so won't taste funny alongside their aromatic overtones. For chips with a subtler, more sour cream-forward flavor, a lighter wine like pinot grigio could be a good pick.

If you prefer a red wine to a white one, a full-bodied Argentinian malbec might pair well with sour cream and onion chips since such wines tend to play nicely with onions. You could also opt for a cabernet sauvignon as these wines include malbec grapes in the mix, while pinot noirs have earthy notes that can complement the onion flavor. If you're looking to offset the chips' pungency, however, a fruity grenache or acidic gamay could provide some contrast.

There are all kinds of spicy potato chips on store shelves these days, ranging from kicked-up barbecue to Buffalo sauce to jalapeño, habanero, and ghost pepper. To be honest, these chips aren't the easiest ones to pair with wine, since the hotter the chip, the more it's going to mess with your taste buds. Still, this makes for a great excuse to stick with more budget-friendly wines. As for the type of wine, Catherine Fallis' pick for jalapeño chips is a fruity rosé such as the ones produced on the West Coast as she calls this "a tasty, balanced pairing."

If the chips are really hot, however, riesling, gewürztraminer and pinot gris are all recommended for use with spicy foods since their slight sweetness can temper the burnwhile their acidity can help counteract the alkalinity of the capsaicin. If the chips aren't as hot as you'd like, though (or you just prefer red wines), either shiraz or grenache can help amplify the burn as these wines have spicy notes of their own.