Champagne & Fried Chicken – Something to Celebrate!

On a recent visit to Houston, Texas my husband and I visited a restaurant that celebrates fine bubbles with finger-lickin’ chicken. It’s called Max’s Wine Dive.

It was such a fun experience. Why does Champagne makes us feel like we need to be pretentious? This was a let-your-hair-down and enjoy the things you enjoy kind of place. How refreshing!

Even though they are a “wine dive,” they have quite an impressive wine list that includes labels like Cakebread, Caymus and Dom Perignon. They do have a variety of price points so you can find quality wine even at the lower end of the price range.

What did we order? The fried chicken of course. It arrived golden and crispy on top of scrumptious mashed potatoes and collard greens. We were in the south mind you. To pair with the chicken we had the J Vineyards Cuvee 20 Brut. It paired perfectly!

Fried Chicken and Champagne

I’m always in learning mode so I asked our waiter what “Cuvee” really means. He honestly said he had no idea. So, on to Google we went to find out more. And wouldn’t you know…it’s a big nothing burger.

The term Cuvee isn’t a regulated term meaning the wine or Champagne doesn’t have to be produced in a specific way or in a specific region to use the term Cuvee. It’s a French term that means a vat or tank of wine that is put to some purpose. Hmmm..that could mean anything.

Coming from the marketing world, I noticed that it feels like an upscale term and may give a label a little extra feel of sophistication. Keep your eyes peeled for that fancy-sounding Cuvee and remember the slogan from Max’s Wine Dive — Fried Chicken and Champagne?…Why the Hell Not?!®