Which Wine Pairs Best with French Fries?

While french fries are rarely considered haute cuisine, they shouldn’t be a dish exempt from a good wine pairing. After all, like cheese boards and bruschetta, french fries are often seen on wine bar snack menus. In seeking an answer, Chowhound sought out Helena Nicklin, an award-winning wine and spirits journalist and broadcaster to speak exclusively on how to best pair wine with several different kinds of french fries.

With over 25 years in the beverage industry, Nicklin regularly writes for British tabloids The Sun and Daily Mail, and co-produced and presented The Three Drinkers, a drinks and food travel series on Amazon Prime. As a devout oenophile who won’t say no to a hot basket of chips, Nicklin was only too happy to offer her preferred wine pairings.

We’ll start with the classic french fry, what many view as the OG fry. Straight-cut and of medium thickness, these evenly sliced french fries are fluffy on the inside, crisp on the outside, and often regarded as the quintessential fry, particularly in the United States. 

Made with only three ingredients, the classic is also a basic fry, one Helena Nicklin believes needs a mild, refreshing white wine for balance. “Something like a Pecorino or Pinot Grigio would be good here to cleanse the palate,” advises Nicklin.

Sweet, slightly nutty, and creamy in texture, sweet potato fries go great with sweet, spicy, and savory flavors. Anyone who loves sweet potato fries can attest how quickly they disappear when dipped into a chili lime mayo or spicy harissa sauce. 

In contrast with classic fries, sweet potato ups the ante in both flavor and texture, and Helena Nicklin feels you should have “a wine with similar earthy qualities.” She suggests “skin contact ‘orange’ wine with its tooth-drying tannin, sweet and savory notes, as well as a hint of earthy bitterness will make a glorious match.”

Regardless of their shape and size, the seasoning is decidedly the most important factor when deciding a suitable wine pairing. Any wine selection should either enhance or contrast the flavors of the dish it’s paired with, so choosing the right wine all depends on the flavor of the fries — whether they’re spiced with a chili paste like gochugaru or elevated with a drizzle of truffle oil and grated parmesan.

Helena Nicklin suggests pairings with a few oft-found french fry seasonings: “Paprika and spice will love the sweetness of an off-dry white like Vouvray to foil the heat. Rosemary and salt, on the other hand, will want some herbaceous notes in the wine to mirror those flavors. An Italian Vermentino has the right weight, fruit profile, and subtle herbaceousness for the job.”

Loaded amusement-park-style with glugs of nacho cheese or served smothered with pimento cheese for a tangy, Southern twist, cheese fries are a rich, fat-filled comfort food worth indulging when the yen strikes. Some sommeliers opt for a bold red with fruity flavors and tongue-drying tannins, but Helena Nicklin takes a bubbly route.

“You’ll want a gutsy, full-flavored white with some umami notes, and if they have bubbles, even better for cleansing the palate,” advises Nicklin. “A classic Cava — or even Crémant or champagne will make this ultimate guilty pleasure pairing.”