College students know drinking is easy, but what students don’t know is how simple pairing their favorite cheap eats with easily affordable wine is.
Although there are people who make their living off of pairing wines, students can easily learn the skill by trying lots of wines and learning the flavors.
“An easy rule is that pinot noir goes good with everything,” said Skye Milliken, manager at the local wine store BellaVino. “It’s an easy drinking wine.”
BellaVino, 22 W. Stimson Ave., caters to the low-budget student, featuring a “$12.99 and under” rack which boasts some popular picks.
Milliken said a popular wine among students is New Age White, a slightly carbonated sauvignon blanc and torrontes blend. The wine pairs well with either spicy or sweet food, such as Chinese takeout from Peking Express or a delivery of sweet treats from Insomnia Cookies.
Some of Milliken’s personal favorites include Root 1 Cabernet Sauvignon — which pairs well with pasta with red sauce — and Masciarelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, the house wine served at Casa Nueva, 6 W. State St.
For another bargain choice, Amy Mendenhall, the wine stewardess at Kroger, recommends Aconga, an Argentinian wine in both a merlot and a chardonnay for $3.99. Merlot pairs well with chicken wings and classic hamburgers, while chardonnay perfectly compliments a cheese pizza, barbeque wings or fish tacos.
The cheapest bottles of wine at Kroger can be found on the lower shelves of the wine section, with the prices continually increasing with each shelf.
“Always look for sales,” Mendenhall said. “The lower two shelves, and sometimes the third, come out really affordable.”
In times of celebration, students might want to gravitate to something bubblier. For that, Mendenhall pointed to a bottle of Andre Spumante, a sparkling wine for $5.99 at Kroger that pairs well with French fries or other salty snacks.
BellaVino offers a variety of organic and local wines popular with Athens residents. Shade Winery, located about 15 minutes away from campus in Shade, Ohio, offers several different bottles at the store, with prices ranging from $10 to $12.
“Anything local will be sweeter,” Milliken said, explaining that this is due to the type of grape that can be grown in an Ohio climate.
Even Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery, 24 W. Union St., known more for its brews, receives rave reviews about the wines it carries, especially its mead — a type of wine made with honey.
One of the meads Jackie O’s stocks is from Brothers Drake Meadery & Bar, located in Columbus.
“They’re kind of like Jackie O’s, but with mead,” said Joe Kunkel, front-of-the-house manager at Jackie O’s.
As a good pairing with a Jackie O’s cheese plate, the meads are most popular on Mom’s and graduation weekends, Kunkel added.
A final unlikely pairing Mendenhall suggests is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich matched with port, a sweet red wine that is commonly served with dessert.
Students can stick to their price range and purchase Taylor’s, a bargain port, for less than $8.
But be warned: the sweet wine has a deceptively high alcohol content.
“You have to be careful when you’re drinking port,” Mendenhall said. “It’s 20 percent alcohol.”
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