Wine, Popcorn & Sour Pickles

We have two other passion’s besides wine; mine being Popcorn and his being Sour Pickles. Early into our relationship we shared this love with one another from memories with our families growing up. Soon after, this became our favorite date night, and evening treat combination: A shared bottle of wine, bowl of freshly popped popcorn and sour pickles that can only be found in Texas (thank you HEB). The countless nights spent staying in and enjoying this is some of our most cherished memories together. Now we are going to dive into the perfect bottles for a night in and different Popcorn varieties to enjoy as much as we have enjoyed. So grab a glass, get on your cozy sweats on and start reading. But, most importantly get ready to run to the store and try these sweet and savory combinations and hopefully you are able to enjoy these experiences the first time and with as much satisfaction as I did.

WINE | Alright we could go a few ways here but we are going to share our top three go to wine’s with popcorn:

Malbec: This is a 2014 vintage from Argentina the Mendel Malbec is on the bold side that is dry with less acidity making it the perfect combination with your Sour Pickle. With notes of plum chocolate and blackberry.

Pinot Noir: The Averaen Pinot Noir is a 2016 vintage and is 1% of the worlds top wines. With high acidity and on the dry side the Oregon Pinot Noir will leave you with notes of cherry, cedar and earthy minerals. Use this combination with your classic movie theater style popcorn.

Chardonnay: We are going to throw you a curve ball on this one with the Sonoma County Chardonnay from Kirkland. Specifically the 2015 vintage. Now we love getting wine from Costco and this Chardonnay is no exception. With a great price point and the balance of Oak and Butter, this makes the perfect balance of crisp and creamy with your popcorn.

POPCORN | This tradition started with my father always making homemade popcorn before we watched movies together, but you also could not forget the extra butter melted on the stove top of course. This became a tradition that we shared with my friends and now I have shared with Jean-Claude, who’s family has also jumped on the popcorn game. Now what makes this popcorn so fantastic? This is not microwave or movie theater popcorn with the fake butter that makes you want to go into cardiac arrest. I am talking good ole fashion kernel’s cooked in a Whirly Pop with some good Olive Oil. Then to top it off after you have spread the melted butter across, sprinkle some sea salt and call it a day. Follow these steps below to have the best popcorn you have ever tasted.

1. Purchase a Wabash Valley Farms Whirly Pop, they are currently on Amazon for $25. This is an old style popcorn maker that you use on the stove top and slowly turn the popcorn until it is fully cooked.
2. Popcorn kernels, now this is the time to listen up. There are a variety of kernels to try from and if you are just starting out I would recommend William and Sonoma’s Amish Popcorn Library with 12 different varieties of kernels with our favorite being the red. It has the perfect crunch and nutty flavor.
3. Let’s bring the flavor with some Oil. Now there are a variety of oil combinations you can use to get your desired flavor combination with your popcorn. The three oil’s we stick to are: Olive, Coconut, and Avocado. Our favorite is Olive oil, try out Espuny Olive Oil in a can, not only is this packed full of flavor, you can reuse it as a decoration in your kitchen.
4. Cooking: Pour about 2/3 cup of kernels into your Whirly Pop, then add about 4-5 heaping tablespoons of oil. Turn the stove on high and begin spinning your Whirly Pop about 30 second in you will begin to hear the glorious sound of kernels popping. Spin until you feel tension then take it off the burner and wait for the popping to stop, then pour the popcorn into a large bowl (we have one specifically for popcorn only, which I highly encourage).
5. Before indulging in this popcorn you have a few options on your toppings, we enjoy pink Himalayan sea salt with drizzled olive oil and some popcorn salt. If you like it the classic way, melt some butter on the stove (half a stick – do NOT use the microwave) then sprinkle some salt and you have a much better movie theater popcorn. Want to get a little fancy? Top it off with some Lemon Zest, Truffle Oil and Parmesan for a gourmet popcorn treat.

SOUR PICKLES | This started from Jean-Claude’s mother whenever they watched movies together. She would set him up with a big bowl of popcorn and a Sour Pickle for the perfect Sour & Salty combination. These were cherished memories for him and his family. We are so thankful we get to carry on and continue our tradition’s together. So, to give you some background, before Jean-Claude and I started dating I had never, yes that is correct, NEVER had a pickle in my life. Before, I thought it was something only Pregnant women should be eating (no offense to my three sisters and all other mother’s out there! lol). He soon corrected me and I remember taking my first bite as he anxiously looked at me (staring and trying to read every facial expression I created from this first experience and praying I would like it) and I looked at him and said this was amazing. Now, after trying this we have eaten sour pickles with every bowl of popcorn. Now unfortunately for our readers outside of Texas you will not be able to purchase these as they are only found in the great grocery store HEB, if you do come across some be sure to stock up! After we finish a jar of pickles we save it and actually use it to keep our memories together. This has become truly a cherished moment between the two of us and something we can look back at and go through these memories together.

What’s next? Grab your favorite bottle of wine, turn on the stove, bust out the jar of pickles and turn on your favorite movie. This is the perfect way to start your week and wind down on a Sunday evening. Please like and comment below so we can know what you think of this combination.

Happy Popping,

Wine’In Texas