Big Macs & Burgundy (Vanessa Price & Adam Laukhuf)

Staff Pick:  Maybe it’s just me, but when I want wine the most it’s actually on the nights when I want to treat myself to something special ON THE COUCH. This book hysterically pairs beautiful wines at all price points with your favorite box of cereal, frozen foods from Trader Joe’s, and the likes of a Shake Shake burger…for when you’re just a basic human that wants to eat and drink some wine. - Carter

Here are essential wine pairings for everything from popcorn to veggie burgers to General Tso’s Chicken, based on the wildly popular Grub Street column.

Sancerre and Cheetos go together like milk and cookies. The science behind this unholy alliance is as elemental as acid, fat, salt, and minerals. Wine pro Vanessa Price explains how to create your own pairings while proving you don’t necessarily need fancy foods to unlock the joys of wine. Chapters include:

• Subsistence Pairings: For the Shoestring Somm, Scrappy Doesn’t Have to Mean Crappy
• Southern Comforts: Bluegrass Basics for Coastal Elites
• Extra Value Meals: McDonald’s: On Properly Lovin’ It
• Fast-Food Fixes: Hair of the Hot Dog
• Wine with Breakfast: The Best Part of Waking Up Is Fermentation in Your Cup
• And more!

Building upon the outsized success of her weekly column in Grub Street, Price offers delightfully bold wine and food pairings alongside hilarious tales from her own unlikely journey as a Kentucky girl making it in the Big Apple and in the wine business.

Using language everyone can understand, she reveals why each dynamic duo is a match made in heaven, serving up memorable takeaways that will help you navigate any wine list or local bottle shop. Charmingly illustrated and bubbling with personality, Big Macs & Burgundy will open your mind to the entirely fun and entirely accessible wine pairings out there waiting to be discovered—and make you do a few spit takes along the way.