How to Pair Tacos and Wine

Tacos are the perfect food. They’re a complete meal in a handheld package, and they pack in every flavor from salty to spicy to sour to sweet to umami. But the next time you have a taco, instead of grabbing a beer, that default beverage pairing, try reaching for a glass of wine.

But what kind of wine? Taco fillings can range from simple grilled fish to marinated, spit-roasted pork shoulder; a flaky flour tortilla is not the same as a nutty, slightly sweet corn tortilla; and toppings range from punchy pico de gallo to smoky, savory salsas or even fresh fruit. This is not the time for a one-size-fits-all approach to pairing. 

To find the perfect taco-pairing wines, I teamed up with a sommelier who ponders this question on a daily basis: Damon Cohen of Cosme, chef Enrique Olvera’s upscale Mexican restaurant in New York City. We tasted over a dozen types of wine with different kinds of tacos to find what worked best. Read on for 16 excellent wine pairings to upgrade your next taco night. 

Pair carne asada tacos with earth red wines

Although steak is a famously red wine–friendly ingredient, it was surprisingly difficult to find a pairing for carne asada tacos. As it turned out, a medium-bodied red with the right balance of tannins, acidity, and not-too-fruity flavors matched every element in the taco: nutty corn tortilla, savory steak, sharp chopped onion, and herbal cilantro. 

2022 Castello di Gabbiano Chianti Classico ($16) 

Strawberry and raspberry flavors meld with a touch of earth in this energetic Sangiovese. Classically Chianti in style, it has firm tannins that stand up to the richness of a steak taco and enough acidity to match any tangy topping.

2023 Cline Ancient Vines Mourvèdre ($28)

Cline Family Cellars in Sonoma County has an ongoing commitment to cultivating 100-year-old vines to make excellent, affordable wines, including the Mourvèdre vines that supply the grapes for this juicy, fruit-forward red, with its spice and leather nuances.

2022 Lioco Mendocino County Pinot Noir ($28)

There’s so much textural appeal in Lioco’s Mendocino Pinot Noir: medium tannins, quenching acidity, and a pleasant touch of bitterness. It weaves together ripe red and black fruit to yield the platonic ideal of a California Pinot for a really great price. 

2022 Ruffino Riserva Ducale Chianti Classico ($30)

Made to pair with meaty, tomatoey Tuscan dishes, it’s no surprise that this Chianti Classico works well with a steak taco. And it has everything you want from a Chianti Classico: cherry-plum flavors, lively acidity, grippy tannins, and an earthy finish.

Pair al pastor tacos with Chardonnay

Traditionally topped with pineapple, a taco al pastor offers a perfect blend of sweet and savory with a touch of tart lime, which all turned out to be a glorious partner for Chardonnay. “It’s hard to say that there could be a better pairing for this,” Cohen remarked. Seek out Chardonnays with a subtle pineapple quality and toasty notes to match the corn tortilla, starting with the ones listed here.

2022 Tensley Fundamental Chardonnay ($22)

Winemaker Joey Tensley’s Fundamental Wines are all about making excellent wine and selling it for an incredible price. This is a total Goldilocks wine — not too tart, not too oaky, not too buttery, not too fruity — it’s classic Cali Chardonnay, and just right. 

2023 Melville Sta. Rita Hills Estate Chardonnay ($44)

This Chardonnay’s complexity starts in the vineyard: Vines face fierce breezes from the Pacific and withstand cool temperatures throughout the growing season. The result is a briny white with enough body to stand up to the heat in an al pastor marinade. 

2023 Patrick Piuze Terroir de Chablis ($38)

Since starting his label in 2008, Patrick Piuze has emerged as a star among Chablis’ next-gen winemakers. In 2023, his Terroir de Chablis bottling is rounder and more melony than a typical, stony Chablis; it was a hot year, yielding juicier wines with just enough lemon-lime acidity.

2022 Domaine Jérôme Fornerot Les Charrons Santenay Blanc ($45)

This thirst-quenching wine from the talented Jérôme Fornerot comes from a hillside vineyard next to a 13th-century church. It deftly balances the roundness of a warmer-zone white Burgundy with bracing acidity and a pleasing, gravelly texture.

Zippy white wines pair best with fish tacos

Fish taco fillings come in many forms: crispy, battered, and fried; flaky and chargrilled; simply seasoned; heavily dressed. But they’re all a great match for a well-chilled, bright white wine. The tart, citrusy notes of the wine help balance the richness of a flaky flour tortilla and add zip to the flavors of the fish itself.

2023 Boundary Breaks #198 Reserve Finger Lakes Riesling ($25)

This slightly off-dry white comes from New York’s Finger Lakes region, where Riesling reigns supreme. Balanced and brisk, it offers a blend of lemony acidity and honeyed sweetness that makes it a great match for a punchy tomatillo salsa.

2023 Guilhem et Jean-Hugues Goisot Bourgogne Aligoté ($25)

The underdog grape of Burgundy, Aligoté yields light-bodied wines with citrusy notes. This cuvée from Domaine Goisot comes from vines planted in soils rich with fossilized oyster shells and offers lively mint, white tea, and lemon flavors. 

2023 Sandy Cove Sauvignon Blanc ($17)

Passion fruit defines this energetic New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Winemaker Josh Scott lets sustainably farmed Sauvignon come to peak ripeness before harvesting for a white that’s a bit rounder compared to the usual herbaceous New Zealand style. 

2023 Cadre Sea Queen Albariño ($30)

Winemaker John Niven knew the potential of California’s San Luis Obispo Coast from a young age; his grandfather was a pioneer in planting vines there in the 1970s. This distinctly Californian Albariño has more richness and pineapple-mango notes than you’d find in those from Spain. 

Orange wine and chicken tacos are a great match

Finding a match for an orange wine — the more common term for skin-contact white wines — was a fascinating part of our tasting. Orange wines fought with the iron notes in steak tacos and were overpowered by the fattiness of pork tacos. But with a chargrilled chicken thigh taco, the light tannins were a perfect match, providing just enough structure to stand up to the rich meat, while the wine’s bright acidity added a zesty edge.

2023 Meinklang Weisser Mulatschak ($18)

This hazy orange wine comes from Burgenland, Austria, where the family behind Meinklang makes wine in the middle of a national park. While orange wines aren’t made with oranges, this blend nevertheless has a distinct orange-peel quality. 

2022 Latta Wines Lucius Skin-Contact Viognier ($25)

Andrew Latta’s wines prove that Rhône varietals are right at home in Washington state. With his new Lucius line, he’s been experimenting with new varietals and techniques, with results like this peachy-hued skin-contact Viognier. It blends jasmine florality with mango notes, and tealike tannins give it a ton of texture.

2022 Cortes de Cima Chaminé Branco ($30)

This golden-hued white is a reminder that not all skin-contact wines are orange in color. Made with a blend of Alvarinho, Sauvignon Blanc, Moscatel, and Viogner, there’s a thrilling balance of high acid and tropical-fruit florality here. 

2023 Tinto Amorío Monje ($35)

After discovering low-intervention wines in Spain while studying to be a monk, winemaker Anish Patel set out to make a California wine that mirrored his own values: intentionality, transparency, and sustainability — with a sense of fun. His lively, peach-hued wine has gentle tannins and notes of green mango, persimmon, and nectarine.