To celebrate the casual culinary tradition of enjoying your favorite take-out at home, Turning Leaf ® Wines believe that even these informal occasions deserve to be enjoyed with a glass of wine. They have issued a national survey to see how Americans get their take out and what wines they were pairing with their food.
“Wine doesn’t need to be reserved for fine dining,” said Turning Leaf winemaker Nicole Hitchcock. “We developed this survey to discover the casual side of dinner. It’s these relaxed nights that I think are some of the best times to enjoy a glass of wine.
Whether an impromptu dinner with friends or a well-deserved night on the couch, take out always pairs well with a night in. Turning Leaf invites you to uncork a bottle and enjoy a glass of wine with your take out dinner.
When asked which wine they preferred to uncork at dinner, respondents leaned toward Merlot (29%) as their choice of red and Chardonnay (28%) as their go-to white. “Wine doesn’t need to be reserved for fine dining,” said Turning Leaf winemaker Nicole Hitchcock.
Turning Leaf features eight great wines, all for under $10, and have provided pairing suggestions to go with the most popular take-out:
Chardonnay: Spring Rolls, Mozzarella Sticks, Grilled Cheese
Merlot: Dumplings, Veggie Burger, Gyro
Pinot Noir: Falafel, Salmon Roll, Tacos
Cabernet Sauvignon: Cheese Pizza, Meatball Hero, Cheeseburger
Pinot Grigio: Miso Soup, Garlic Knots, Tortilla Soup
Reisling: Pad Thai, Chicken Tikka Masala, Spicy Tuna Roll
Sauvignon Blanc: Seaweed Salad, Green Curry, Broccoli & Garlic Sauce
White Zinfandel: General Tso’s Chicken, Rainbow Roll, California Roll
And if you really want to get creative, Turning Leaf shares these great drink recipes for their wines:
Mojito Blanco
Ingredients
2 tbsp finely chopped mint leaves
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp granulated sugar
½ cup Turning Leaf Sauvignon Blanc
Crushed ice
Chilled seltzer
Directions
In a small pitcher, mix mint leaves, lime juice and sugar. Fill two tall glasses with crushed ice; pour mint mixture over ice. Add Turning Leaf Sauvignon Blanc and top glasses with seltzer. Serves two.
Summer Spritz
Ingredients
1 oz strawberry puree
1 oz pineapple juice
3 oz ginger ale
3 oz Turning Leaf Chardonnay
Directions
Puree strawberries. Combine with pineapple juice and Turning Leaf Chardonnay in a pint glass with ice. Shake well and top off with ginger ale. Garnish with strawberry on glass. Serves one.
Merlot Sangria
Ingredients
1 pint fresh cherries
1 pint of raspberries
1 pint of strawberries
Bottle of Turning Leaf Merlot
1 liter of black cherry soda
Directions
Place cherries, raspberries and strawberries in a large pitcher. Add Turning Leaf Merlot. Let stand at room temperature for about one hour. Before serving, add black cherry soda. Serve over ice. Serves five.
Here are some more fun facts they discovered in doing the survey:
That Friday night is the most popular night for Americans to take out their dinner. After a long workweek, who wants to cook on a Friday night?
That “homemade” meal may not be as homemade as you think! More than one-third of respondents (34%) said they have passed off take out food as something they have made from scratch.
When asked where they prefer to eat take out, it was a 50/50 split between cozying up on the living room couch and sitting down at the dining room table.
Think you’re the only one who sneaks a bite of food before bringing it home? Think again – 61% of Americans also let the temptation of a pre-meal bite get the best of them!
Nearly half (41%) of Americans chose Chinese as their all-time favorite take out cuisine, with Italian coming in second (21%).
Who cares if you’re eating at the table or whether an impromptu dinner with friends or a well-deserved night on the couch, take out always pairs well with a night in. Turning Leaf invites you to uncork a bottle and enjoy a glass of wine with your take out dinner.
* The Turning Leaf wine survey was conducted among 1,003 nationally representative Americans ages 21 and older. The interviews were facilitated by Wakefield Research between 6/1/10 – 6/7/10.
California, Italian & German Table Wine, © 2010 Turning Leaf, Modesto, CA USA. All rights reserved.
Watch our video on “The Neighborhood” where Turning Leaf visited LA’s The Place and Jane Emery, Lee Reherman and Natalina Maggio paired their wines with local delicious takeout for us to try. It was fun and delicious!
