Founded with a borrowed $1000 in 1965, Fred De Luca started his first sandwich shop in 1965. He was 17 years old and the first Subway was established in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Now with nearly 35,000 franchised shops in 95 territories, this sandwich chain has never had a wine list. We've created one for it...
Chicken & Bacon Ranch
Essentially this is barbecued chicken, so you want something that will match both the lightness of the chicken (so you would think white) but will also match the smoky, sweeter flavours from the ranch sauce (which would mean red). Something like a Tempranillo should go pretty well with it with the oaky and balsamic notes working with the sweet sauce, but the wine has a floral note to not overpower the chicken.
Solar de Carillon £6 from Independent Retailers
Marques de Caceres Crianza Rioja £11 Widely Available
Steak & Cheese
The rustic, grilled flavours of steak, onion and green peppers indicate going with a rustic style of wine. Go with a Cabernet Sauvignon from the south of France, or maybe something like a Grenache from the same region that should complement the darker, slightly smoky flavours of this sandwich.
Paul Mas Cabernet Sauvignon £7 Widely Available
Tramontane Grenache £7 Luvians Bottleshop
Meatball Marinara
Italian meatballs require italian wine, and what better than a cheap, gluggable Chianti that will work with a herby tomato sauce on the Sub.
Piccini Gran Selezione Oro Chianti Riserva £8 from Tesco
Lavacchio Chiant Rufina £10 from Swig
Tuna Sub
Maybe an unoaked Chardonnay from Chile for this one? The creamy mayonnaise with the stronger flavoured tinned fish would need a fuller bodied white, but I fear that creamy notes from an oaked Chardonnay would be a bit too much with the mayo, which is why I think unoaked Chardonnay is best.
Errazuriz Unoaked Chardonnay £8 Widely Available
Echieverra Unoaked Chardonnay £10 from Independent Retailers
Chicken Temptation
We are talking Southern Fried Chicken here - chicken breast in a crispy crumb, similar to what the Colonel might have made. Therefore, a southern French Sauvignon Blanc is my selection, giving a crisp fruity style that will cut through the fat of the breadcrumbs and compliment the light chicken breast.
Sensas Sauvignon Blanc £7 from Majestic
Naked Grape Sauvignon Blanc £7.50 from Waitrose
Subway Melt
I'm going for a traditional American Thanksgiving pairing here. Turkey always goes well with Gamay as this grape produces a fruity, low tannin red wine. You can find a decent, inexpensive Beaujolais in any supermarket, but if you want to splash out a bit, get a good producer's basic Beaujolais for around a tenner.
Georges Duboeuf Briouilly £9 Sainsbury's
Beaujolais Chatoux £10 Independent Retailers
Veggie Patty
It is the red peppers and soy that dominate this Sub, so you are needing a big, smoky white here, and a Burgundian Chardonnay would go perfectly with this. Rather than a butter or vanilla fest from an American version, the French wine will offer a tobacco box or vanilla pod flavour that should go with the fuller flavoured veggie patty.
Louis Jadot Bourgogne Chardonnay £10 Widely Available
Chablis Grand Cru Jean Claude Bessin £27 Independent Retailers
Italian B.M.T
Again, we are talking an Italian wine for an Italian sandwich, but I'm going a bit left field here and suggesting a white. An Italian Fiano, with sweeter fruit flavours should cool the spicier notes from the sausage, but not overpower the ham.
Mandrarossa Fiano £7 Independent Retailers
Sannio Fiano Fremendo £9 Majestic
Spicy Italian
Particularly if you have the herbal Italian bread, this wine needs something like a Dolcetto. Meaning 'little sweet one', the Dolcetto grape offers a sweeter, lower acid, young drinking style of wine but with a tannic element that will be masked by the spicy sausage.
Brown Bros Dolcetto Syrah £8 from Waitrose
Ascheri Dolcetto £13 Independent Retailers
Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki
Lets go sweet here, yet clean up the sweet onion and chicken with a bundle of acid. Therefore, we have to go to Germany for a sweeter German Riesling that will complement the flavours and yet leave your mouth clean and fresh, which, lets face it, is what you need after eating all of these sandwiches
Dr L Riesling £7.50 from Majestic
Karl Jostock-Thul Piesporter Riesling Kabinett £10 Independent Retailers
Karl Jostock-Thul Piesporter Riesling Kabinett £10 Independent Retailers
All wine suggestions in "A wine list for..." are simply suggestions. I have not tasted all of these wines or foods and am simply directing you to a product that is widely available for you to consider should you want to pair wine with your fast food.
Subway Website
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