Enchiladas pair best with medium-bodied white wines such as Vermentino, Riesling, Viognier and Gewürztraminer, as their citrusy flavours can hold up to the Enchilada’s layers of flavour.
Stuffed with rice, grilled veggies, meat, cheese, herbs and spices and then covered with a rich sauce, an Enchilada is a hefty meal. Thus, for red wine pairings, you’ll want lighter red wines such as Beaujolais, Barbera and Lambrusco that are high in acidity to offer up plenty of refreshment against the barrage of carbohydrates, proteins and fats of your Enchilada.
Best Wine with Enchiladas
Riesling & Enchilada Pairing
If you are eating an Enchilada at a Tex-Mex establishment, out of all the wines we mentioned, Riesling is one of the most likely wines to be found on their wine list. Incredibly food-friendly, Riesling pairs well with nearly every ingredient you can stuff into your Enchilada.
The high acidity content of Riesling makes it a lip-smacking pairing with the refried beans, grilled onions, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, cheese and meat. Many of these ingredients clog up our taste buds, so we no longer taste much of our Enchilada by the fifth bite. With a glass of Riesling, this vibrant wine swoops in and cleans your tongue so it sparkles, making every bite taste just as delicious as the first bite.
Riesling ranges from bone dry to syrupy sweet. If you’re eating a spicier Enchilada with chilli peppers or a little kick of habanero, select an off-dry Riesling which has a hint of sweetness. The touch of residual sugar won’t taste like candy; instead, it offers a nice buffer against the spicy heat of your Enchilada in that it snuffs out some of those flames. This allows you to taste the wonderful flavours of all those peppers without any tears of regret.
Riesling has notes of lemon, lime, tangerine, apricot, peach and green apple, which offer a nice contrast to the heavier flavours of your Enchilada. With Riesling, you’ll also find notes of minerals and smoke, which go amazing with any grilled veggies stuffed into your Enchilada.
Viognier & Enchilada Pairing
Viognier is a medium-bodied white wine featuring tropical fruit flavours of apricot, honeysuckle, orange rind, pear, pineapple and peach. Soft and silky in your mouth, Viognier has luscious flavours that hold up to the veggies, beans, rice, cheese and meat in your Enchilada. The creamy body of the wine complements any creamy sauces smothering your Enchilada, along with any sour cream or guacamole.
Beaujolais-Villages & Enchilada Pairing
Beaujolais-Villages pairs well with Enchiladas as this light and fruity red wine has plenty of acidity to keep your mouth refreshed in-between bits. While light in flavour, the cherry, raspberry and strawberry flavours of Beaujolais will still shine through and brighten up your Enchilada.
Beaujolais-Villages also has an earthiness to it, which will complement the beans, grilled veggies and rice found in an Enchilada.
Cava & Enchilada Pairing
Cava is a sparkling wine from Spain that nearly goes with almost everything. This is perfect, as Enchiladas are stuffed with a wide variety of ingredients.
The strength of Cava is its bubbles and high acidity, which scrub all the fats and carbohydrates off your tongue. This cleansing of the taste buds allows you to taste every delicious bite of your Enchilada.
As for flavours, Cava features notes of nuts, citrus, and toast. The nutty flavours are amazing with the Enchilada’s gooey cheese, while the toasty notes go well with the tortilla. Citrus, meanwhile, is exceptional with cilantro or any sauces with a hint of lime.
Any sparkling wine will go great with your Enchilada, however, I am featuring Cava due to its Spanish heritage, along with the fact that it is relatively inexpensive.