"Gewürztraminer is grown in Germany and Alsace, two regions known for fine sausages, so it's no surprise the grape goes well with hot dogs." [Photograph: Robyn Lee] Many hot dogs will be slapped into buns this weekend in honor of Labor Day. Some will anoint them with mustard, others will go for "Chicago style," loading everything but the kitchen sink on top. Even without toppings, hot dogs are tricky because they combine sweet and salty flavors. So what's a wine drinker to do? Of course, you can do what you like—there are no absolute rules when it comes to wine and food pairing. But if hot dogs have stumped you in the past, I've got recommendations for sparkling, Gewürztraminer, rosé,...
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Editor's note: On Fridays Deb Harkness of Good Wine Under $20 joins us to talk some Serious Grape. Take it away, Deb! As an inveterate grape-hopper, I love finding new grape varieties to tempt my palate and keep me from falling into wine ruts. The stranger and more off-beat the grape, the happier I am. I love discovering grapes like the Eastern European Rkatsiteli or delving deeper into Albariño. There is a price to pay for this eclecticism, however: you can forget to drink the six grapes that provide the backbone for wine production throughout the world. These six "noble grapes"—Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinot Noir—have been cultivated all over the world and been made into...
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As a relative newcomer to the Serious Eats family, I've been gobbling up the feeds and learning about the interests of my fellow contributors. Two things I know for sure already: these people love food, and boy, can they cook. Every now and again a Serious Eats recipe flashes across my computer screen and I think to myself, "Oh, [fill in the grape here] would go great with that dish!" So I decided to give you a week's worth of food and wine pairing suggestions, all of which began with an inspiring recipe on this site. I don't adhere to many traditional "wine and food pairing rules," like no red wine with fish, so I'm including a white wine and...
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