Chips and fries, flavouring profile

Chips and fries, flavouring profile

Chips are fat and salt, and the wine that suits them is the one that scrubs the palate clean: sharp, light and, best of all, sparkling.

The compounds that matter. Frying fat, which coats the mouth and needs acidity or bubbles to lift it. Salt, which softens the edges of a sharp wine and makes it seem rounder. Browned, toasty edges from the fryer. Often vinegar, ketchup or mayonnaise on top, each of which asks for more acidity still.

What it demands of a wine. High acidity above all, light to medium body and low to moderate alcohol. Bubbles help more than anything. Tannin and oak add nothing, and a soft, round wine turns greasy beside the fat.

Seek. Champagne, whose acidity and fine bubbles cut the fat and whose toasty depth meets the crisp edges. Dry Riesling from the Mosel, all lime and slate, which stands up to a splash of vinegar. Colombard from Gascony, crisp and inexpensive. English sparkling from Sussex, for chips beside fish.

Avoid

Oaked, buttery whites and soft, low acid wines, which turn heavy against fried food. Big, high alcohol reds, which make the salt taste harsh and the fat feel heavier.

Three to reach for. Champagne, Brut, France. Dry Riesling, Mosel, Germany. Colombard, Gascony, France.