By Summer Sewell
Last night, I made an impromptu wine drinker’s manual at the Mission’s Maverick restaurant. Wine director/ co-owner Mike Pierce gave me enough information to increase the odds that my two fridge staples — dregs of wine and half of a Farolito burrito — will match, even complement, one another.
Every month, Mike hand-selects wine to pair with food not usually thought of as wine-enhancers (Pringles, Cincinnati chili, Fruit Loops). Maverick fans vote via social media on what they want him to pair next, and for this round, Mexican food won.
We began with a bright Ceago Sauvignon Blanc from Clear Lake paired with pork chili verde and rice. Maverick serves American food, but they could definitely go head-to-head with the abuelitas elbows deep in shredded chicken and tradition right around the corner — that chili verde was yummy. Chunky texture, lots of flavor, should go with a light, refreshing wine — bulletpoint number one in the manual.
To my surprise, all the wines we drank were poured in the same glass, from lightest to the fullest in body. So even if I was trying to pace myself, I was drinking fast to move on to the next pairing — pork carnitas tacos.
For anything fatty like pig, you need an acidic wine to clean the food off the palette — second bulletpoint. So a heavy Wehlener Riesling rich in malic acid (which makes your whole mouth water in a Granny Smith apple bite kind of way) easily cancelled out the strong taco tang in my mouth. I could keep tasting the fruity, sweet notes of the wine.
The Riesling smelled like a margarita, which is a sign of a good German Riesling — bulletpoint number three. The sweetness of a Riesling can handle the heat of jalapenos and Maverick’s housemade salsa — last bulletpoint (it was a short manual).
Our last pour was a French Rose (Grenache/ Cinsault/ Syrah). I was hoping for flan as dessert, but when a churro arrived, I wasn’t mad at it. There aren’t any notes on this last pairing — this was the third full pour and imbibing beat writing — but I drew exclamation points in my makeshift manual.
I still had churro in my mouth when I started fantasizing about the next wine pairing at Maverick — traditional Thanksgiving dinner match-ups. Mike’s offering alternatives to the standard Chardonnay or Pinot T-day haps on November 7. Call to RSVP, I’ll see you there.
All photos by Summer Sewell
