Sparkling wine: what to cook with it

Crispy Fried Chicken

The classic pairing — fat and salt need bubbles and acidity to cut through them.

50 minutes · serves 2 · about 620 kcal, 38 g protein, 32 g carbohydrate and 36 g fat per serving (estimate)

Ingredients

• 6 chicken thighs
• 300ml buttermilk
• 150g flour
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• enough to shallow fry oil for frying

Method

1. Marinate the chicken in buttermilk for at least 30 minutes. (30 min)
2. Dredge in seasoned flour, pressing it on well. (5 min)
3. Fry in hot oil until deeply golden and cooked through. (12 min)
4. Drain on paper towel and rest briefly before serving. (3 min)

Serving: Pile the pieces loosely on a board or platter rather than a flat plate, so the crust stays visible and doesn't steam soft.

Why it works with this wine: Sparkling wine's bubbles and acidity scrub the palate clean between bites of fried food — it's one of the most reliable pairings there is.

Fish and Chips

Classic fried food, classic sparkling pairing — the acidity does all the work.

40 minutes · serves 2 · about 720 kcal, 34 g protein, 64 g carbohydrate and 36 g fat per serving (estimate)

Ingredients

• 2 white fish fillets
• 150g flour
• 200ml cold beer or sparkling water
• 500g potatoes
• enough to deep fry oil for frying

Method

1. Cut the potatoes into chips and fry once at a lower temperature until soft. (12 min)
2. Whisk flour and cold beer into a light batter. (5 min)
3. Dip the fish in the batter and fry until golden and crisp. (6 min)
4. Fry the chips a second time at a higher heat until crisp, then drain both. (6 min)

Serving: Serve straight onto paper on a board, fish slightly propped against the chips so the batter stays crisp.

Why it works with this wine: Nothing cuts through a plate of fried food like the acidity and bubbles in a sparkling wine — it works even better than a squeeze of lemon.

Salty Popcorn Shrimp

Small, salty, crisp bites that disappear fast alongside a glass of something sparkling.

25 minutes · serves 2 · about 340 kcal, 26 g protein, 20 g carbohydrate and 16 g fat per serving (estimate)

Ingredients

• 400g small shrimp
• 100g cornstarch
• 1 egg
• half tsp chili flakes
• enough to shallow fry oil for frying

Method

1. Toss the shrimp in beaten egg, then in cornstarch mixed with chili flakes. (8 min)
2. Fry in batches until golden and crisp, about 2 minutes. (6 min)
3. Drain on paper towel. (2 min)
4. Season with extra salt while still hot. (1 min)

Serving: Pile into a small bowl or paper cone, so people can eat with their fingers straight from it.

Why it works with this wine: This is snack food built for bubbles — small, salty, and crunchy is exactly what sparkling wine is happiest sitting next to.

Potato Chips and Onion Dip

Almost too simple to call a recipe, but genuinely one of the best sparkling pairings there is.

15 minutes · serves 4 · about 280 kcal, 4 g protein, 26 g carbohydrate and 18 g fat per serving (estimate)

Ingredients

• 1 large bag good quality potato chips
• 200g sour cream
• half, finely diced onion
• handful chives

Method

1. Finely dice the onion and sauté until soft and lightly golden. (8 min)
2. Cool slightly, then stir into the sour cream. (3 min)
3. Season well and stir in chopped chives. (2 min)
4. Serve with the chips alongside. (1 min)

Serving: Serve the dip in a small bowl set into a larger bowl of chips, so people can dig in directly.

Why it works with this wine: Salt and fat from the chips against the acidity and bubbles in the glass is one of the simplest, most dependable pairings around.

Spicy Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

Gentle heat and a rich, tangy sauce that sparkling wine handles better than most reds.

35 minutes · serves 2 · about 360 kcal, 10 g protein, 34 g carbohydrate and 20 g fat per serving (estimate)

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower
• 100g flour
• 80ml hot sauce
• 30g butter
• 150ml milk

Method

1. Cut the cauliflower into florets. (5 min)
2. Dip in a batter of flour and milk, then bake or fry until golden. (20 min)
3. Melt butter into the hot sauce. (3 min)
4. Toss the cooked cauliflower through the buffalo sauce. (2 min)

Serving: Pile the florets high on a plate, drizzle any extra sauce over the top, and serve while still hot.

Why it works with this wine: The gentle heat and tang need a wine with real acidity to reset the palate between bites, which is exactly what sparkling wine does best.

Champagne, France

The most strictly protected wine name in the world

Champagne is roughly an hour from Paris by train, and it's the only place on earth legally allowed to put that name on a bottle. That protection is part of the story: centuries-old Houses sit alongside small independent growers, all working the same chalky soil.

The chalk cellars are the real reason to visit in person — kilometers of tunnels carved deep underground, some of them genuinely worth the tour on their own, separate from the tasting at the end.

Reims and Épernay are the two natural bases. A single day trip from Paris works for a first taste, but staying overnight means you can visit a second House the next morning before heading back.

In one line: The place every other sparkling wine ends up being compared to.

If you cannot travel there: Any real Champagne works. Serve it with something fried or salty — it cuts through both better than most food-and-wine rules would suggest.

Franciacorta, Italy

Champagne's method, made much smaller and less crowded

Franciacorta, in northern Italy near Lake Iseo, makes sparkling wine using the same traditional method as Champagne — second fermentation in the bottle — but on a fraction of the scale, which keeps it far less crowded and noticeably better value.

The wineries here tend to be smaller and more personal than Champagne's grand Houses, with tastings that often include the actual winemaker rather than a dedicated hospitality team.

It's an easy add-on to a Lake Iseo or Milan trip — under two hours from Milan — and works well as a quieter alternative to the more famous northern Italian lakes further north.

In one line: The quality of Champagne's method, without Champagne's crowds or prices.

If you cannot travel there: Look for Franciacorta (DOCG on the label). Fried chicken or popcorn shrimp both benefit from its acidity.

Penedès, Spain

Cava country, southwest of Barcelona

Penedès, less than an hour from Barcelona, makes the great majority of Spain's Cava using the same traditional method as Champagne, at a fraction of the price. It's one of the best value arguments in all of sparkling wine.

The region doubles easily as a Barcelona day trip or a short overnight stay, with several of the larger Cava houses offering proper cellar tours alongside the tasting.

Sant Sadurní d'Anoia is the town most associated with Cava production specifically, and makes a good base if you want to go beyond a single winery visit.

In one line: Champagne's method, Spanish prices, an hour from Barcelona.

If you cannot travel there: Look for Cava. Serve it with fried food or tapas — jamón, olives, anything salty.

Prosecco Hills, Veneto, Italy

Prosecco's UNESCO-listed home, north of Venice

The hills around Valdobbiadene and Conegliano, north of Venice, are where the best Prosecco comes from — steep, difficult-to-farm slopes that earned the area UNESCO World Heritage status in 2019. It's a very different Prosecco experience than the everyday bottle most people know.

The landscape itself is the draw as much as the wine: terraced vineyards on hillsides too steep for machinery, worked largely by hand.

It's an easy add-on to a Venice trip — under two hours away — and far less crowded than Venice itself, especially outside the September harvest season.

In one line: The hillsides that make Prosecco worth taking seriously.

If you cannot travel there: Look for a Prosecco Superiore DOCG from Valdobbiadene. It's an easy match for salty snacks or light fried food.