DIY Ohio Wine & Snacks Pairing

June is one of our favorite months. It’s usually a time for warm weather, outdoor parties, patio dining and long walks with Murray Pup. Well, this June is looking a little different, for obvious reasons. We’re seriously missing getting together with friends and celebrating weddings, birthdays, or just the weekend honestly. But, while we’re quarantining and taking care of ourselves at home, we’re still celebrating Ohio Wine Month!

***Disclosure: This post is sponsored by the Ohio Grape Industries Committee. As always, all opinions are 100% our own***

If you needed another reason to love June or drink wine then just put them together, cause June is Ohio Wine Month! Ohio is flush with wineries. Some are pretty close to us, like John Christ Winery or Michael Angelo’s Winery. Some are a short drive away like all the amazing places in the Grand River Valley (an area we love for the perfect overnight trip).

Since we aren’t able to spend time at our favorite wineries with our friends right now, we decided to bring the wineries to us by conducting our own little wine tasting in our home! We also spiced things up by pairing the wines with some of our favorite quarantine snacks. We all know wine pairs well with cheese and crackers. But there are so many other delicious treats you can have with wine, especially ones you have stocked up on during this time at home. If you know us, we love good booze and good snacks and we aren’t afraid to take chances. We’re excited to show you what we came up with!

As for the wines, we are very seasonal when it comes to drinking wine. We tend to like reds in the fall and winter and whites and rosé in the spring and summer. We picked our seasonal favorites, plus a wild card.

M Cellars Dry Rosé & Cheese Crackers
M Cellars Dry Rosé is a light bodied, well balanced rosé. It has a fruity, dry finish and is easily drinkable. While it’s a perfect summer wine to drink on a porch, we would drink this any day of the year. We paired this wine with cheese cracker snacks. Goldfish, Cheez-Its and Cheese Puffs all work. There is just something about sitting on your porch with a bowl of cheese crackers and a cold glass of rosé.

Debonne Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc & Mitchell’s Ice Cream
Debonne Sauvignon Blanc is light and crisp with a slight citrus flavor. Sauvignon Blancs tend to be some of our favorite white wines, so we decided that it should be paired with one of our favorite ice cream brands, Mitchell’s. We may have discovered the perfect 100 degree weather pairing: a nice cold Debonne Sauvignon Blanc & Mitchell’s Cookie Dough ice cream.

Grand River Cellars Cabernet Franc & Morning Star Veggie Wings 
Grand River Cellars Cabernet Franc is a bit of a wild card in this bunch. We notice that a lot of Ohio wineries make this kind of wine so we definitely wanted to include it on the list. It’s a full bodied, but easy to drink wine with notes of berries and pepper. We decided this paired best with our favorite chicken nuggets, Morning Star Farms Veggie Wings. Our favorite is the parmesan garlic but we also love the buffalo wings. The heartiness of the Cab Franc balances well with the spicy nuggets.

Laurello Vineyards Pinot Grigio & Pizza Bagel Lady Pizza Bagels
Laurello Pinot Grigio is super light with mild floral and lemony notes. We thought the citrusy, light flavor would pair well with one of our favorite local snacks that we just discovered during quarantine, The Pizza Bagel Lady Pizza Bagels! These bagels make the perfect sandwich and also taste great on their own. The savory, saucy cheesiness of the pizza bagel tastes fantastic with the light and crisp flavor of the Pinot Grigio.

M Cellars Brut Rosé & Saucisson Jerky
M Cellars Brut Rosé is one of our all time favorite wines. We can drink this 365 days of the year. It’s perfect for a celebration or just any time you’re in the mood for bubbles. This wine can be paired with literally anything!  When we’re drinking this we want to eat a special treat and Saucisson jerky is that very special treat. The sparkling rosé and spicy, fresh Saucisson jerky combo is out of this world.

What are some of your favorite wine and food pairings? Did we give you any ideas for your next tasting? Make sure to check out the Ohio Wines website for news and info about our state’s wineries!

(special thanks to Mady of Mady Stoner photography for taking our pics for this post!)