Pairing Wine With Popcorn

Popcorn is one of our favorite snacks of all time, and in general something you can’t watch a movie without. We all love them, but we all love wine as well. Can we have those two together?
The answer is yes, wine does go with popcorn and that means you can make movie nights more fun.

Boozy movie nights, here we come. You can have both white and red wines with popcorn and guess what, Champagne works well too. The wines should have a high acidity, firm structure and a good texture to go well with popcorn.

Wine Characteristics To Pair With Popcorn

Characteristic	Detail
Sweetness	Dry to Sweet
Acidity	High
Tannins	Low to Medium
Body	Medium to Full Bodied White, Light to Medium Bodied Reds
Tasting Notes	White Wine Pairing – Citrus, Green Fruit, Stone Fruit, Butter, Brioche Red Wine Pairing – Red fruit

Sweetness – Dry to sweet wines work well with popcorn depending on what you add.
Plain popcorn works fine with dry wines but if you are having popcorn with a bit of sweetness added to them, go for an off-dry or sweet wine.

Acidity – High acidity is definitely needed here, to cut through the oil and stand up to the saltiness of popcorn. If your wine is not acidic enough, it will seem flabby.

Body – Talking about white wines you can have wines with light to full bodied too, but lets try sticking to medium to full bodied wines. Light to medium bodied red wines should be just enough for popcorn.

Tasting Notes – Here the popcorn flavors play a vital role as well. Having plain popcorn works well with citrus and green fruit flavors and fresh aromas, buttery popcorn call for a bit of butter taste in wine as well. Red fruit and a bit of black fruit works for red wines.

Best Red Wine To Drink With Popcorn

Red wine with popcorn is actually a good pairing. Popcorn can be quite salty and strong flavored which just screams for wine with a good, solid texture and firm tannins.
Acidity in red wines also helps so we would advise looking for wines with medium to high acidity, low to medium tannins, low to medium bodied and red fruit dominated with hints of black fruit.

Pinot Noir from USA

Having popcorn with a bit of butter? Go for an Oregon Pinot Noir. The acidity in these wines is on the higher side and they are more fruit forward with firm tannins. The acidity will be able to stand up to the saltiness of popcorn and the flavors of the wine will balance the strong flavor of butter.

Tempranillo from Spain

Why not try this superb wine from Spain with your cheesy popcorn? Tempranillo has a higher level of acidity and a good level of tannin as well. Dominated by black and red fruit aromas, with a bit of rounder texture and creamy flavors from MLF the wine will make a superb pairing with heavy, cheesy flavored popcorn.

Best White Wine To Drink With Popcorn

Popcorn with white wine is just a perfect combination. The acidity of white wines with the lighter texture complements the classic, plain popcorn but also works well with buttery popcorn.

Depending on the style and flavor of the popcorn, your white wine selection can range from light white wines with simple aromas to full bodied white wines with more complexity and flavor.

Chenin Blanc from France

Why not go for a crisp and acidic Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley in France? Either from Vouvray or Savennieres you can enjoy a wine with lots of complexity that will just make your evening complete.

Chardonnay from USA

USA Chardonnays tend to be quite buttery and with just a touch of sugar left in the wine, making it almost off-dry. With a round texture and a heavy mouthfeel it will make your butter popcorn feel amazing.

Riesling Kabinett from Germany

German Kabinett Riesling from Mosel Valley tends to be quite acidic and refreshing with just the right amount of sugar to balance the soaring acidity. When paired with a tad sweet popcorn it is just the right thing to have with your favorite movie.

Other Popcorn & Wine Pairing Recommendations

Champagne with Popcorn

A traditional method sparkling wine from Champagne in France, makes a wonderful pairing with popcorn. The acidity and the pettilance of the wine cleanses your palate straight away and gives you a wonderful aftertaste of brioche aromas with a bit of smoke.

Tawny Port with Popcorn

Tawny Port can be a good pairing with popcorn which are coated in chocolate. The sweetness of the port pairs with the sweetness level of the chocolate and gives just the right aromas of caramel, dried fruit and sometimes cocoa.

Best Wine To Drink With Popcorn

Underneath you will find a short list of the wines we would recommend trying with popcorn. They all complement the popcorn perfectly and will turn the usual movie night into a sophisticated evening.