Wine Peeps is an independent wine blog dedicated to helping you get the most bang for your buck in wine. We do this through blind tastings of wine from around the world and calculations of 
Challenging Wine Pairing: Hot Dogs
By LaGayle ~ September 14th, 2011.
It’s football season! So, time, again, to consider meals for watching our favorite teams on television or for tailgating before attending games. Of course, there is a wide choice of favorite foods for these events. However, hot dogs always seems to be a special favorite—easy to prepare, easy to eat, and quite enjoyable.
For this month’s challenging wine pairing, I decided to prepare hot dogs and some complementary side dishes beyond the usual choices of chips and baked beans. We enjoyed a meal of hot dogs with mustard and relish condiments, green bean salad, hominy salad, and almond crunch bars for dessert. It was delicious, if I may say so myself!
I truly believe that there is a wine to pair with every food, even hot dogs. And, my trusty guide for pairing food and wine, What to Drink with What You Eat by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, came through once again with recommendations. We selected the 2009 Dr. Loosen Riesling Kabinett Blue Slate and the 2010 Conde de Valdemar Rosado. Both wines were very good; however, the Riesling was the consensus favorite both for sipping and with the meal. However, the rosé paired really well with the dessert; it really brought out the toasty and salty notes in the almond crunch bars. On a side note, if you like chili on your hot dogs, you might consider a red wine such as Zinfandel.
We’d love for you to share in the comments what you would have paired with this meal. And, as always, we welcome your suggestions for challenging wine pairings for us to try in the future.
Bon Appétit!
2009 Dr. Loosen Riesling Kabinett Blue Slate (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany): Pale to medium greenish yellow. Aromatic with minerality, pear, and white peach on the nose. White peach, Granny Smith apple, and mandarin orange come through on the palate. Off-dry to medium sweet and medium-bodied with crisp acidity. Well-balanced with good mouthfeel and a long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Esquin Wine Merchants (Seattle, Washington), $17.99; Available elsewhere, $15 to $25
2010 Bodegas Valdemar Conde de Valdemar Rosado (Rioja, Spain): 85% Garnacha and 15% Tempranillo. Hot pink in color. Nice nose with cherry, raspberry, and strawberry aromas. Reminds me of Ocean Spray cran-raspberry on the palate. Dry and medium-bodied with lively acidity and a long finish. Gets better the longer its open.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Esquin Wine Merchants (Seattle, Washington), $9.99; Available elsewhere, $5 to $13
Filed under: Challenging Wine Pairing, Five-Bangs For Your Buck Wines, Food & Wine, German Wine, Riesling, Rose Wine, Spanish Wine, White Wine, Wines Under $10, Wines Under $15, Wines Under $20, Wines Under $25
Sparking wine with hot dogs is my perfect pairing!
Cheers!
Nannette Eaton
I may have suggested before–how about Korean food? some meat dishes might be easy, but what about banchan and well-fermented kimchi?
Umm..I’m not quite sure how wine will go with hot-dogs. Especially vintage. Wine, not hot-dogs.
But now I’ll give it a try. Nice post.
Nannette,
Thanks for the suggestion. Sparkling wine pairs well with so many foods. We’ll have to try it with our hot dogs sometime.
Rick,
We’ll have to do a challenging wine pairing with Korean food sometime. It’s not food that we eat often but sounds like a fun challenge.
Thomas,
Thanks! Let us know what you think when you give it a try.
Cheers!
Reds pair better than whites with (omg…!) hot-dogs. I still can’t believe I actually tried this out.
Kori, thanks for the idea. 🙂
Nancy,
Our pleasure. Glad to hear you took the challenge yourself. Cheers!
Having children I often end up with hot dogs while sipping. Good call.
Jenny,
Same here. 🙂 Cheers!