We girls love wine. For some it's our strict drink of choice; for others it's what we drink when we need to feel classy and mature. Either way, it's good. Plus, you can get a bottle for as little as $3 in some places so it's even cheaper than some bottled water. Wine and food pairing is an area that requires a lot of talent, a refined palate, and finesse. The fact that you can literally get a job tasting food and pairing wines (hello changing my major ASAP) amazes me. While I'm no sommelier, I like to think that all the time I spend drinking wine and eating has been good for something.

I like trying new types of wine, but, unfortunately, my college budget doesn’t allow for any wine over $10 too often. I’m not about to spend my shopping money on a bunch of fancy nuts and cheeses that I’m supposed to eat while drinking a Château de Tracy 2008 101 Rangs Sauvignon Blanc (Pouilly-Fumé) at $140 a pop. Do you know how many bottles of Barefoot wine $140 can buy? About 17. So, anyways, I decided to use a wine pairing chart, the likes of which can be found on Pinterest, to pick wines to pair with our typical broke college cheat meals, and then diligently test them out to see if they work (research is hard). These are meals you might eat after happy hour on Friday, on a lazy Saturday when you just can’t bring yourself to cook, or that random Wednesday when putting clothes on to go to the sorority house for dinner just won’t happen.

Now, like I said, I am by no means an official, well-trained, sommelier, so don’t hate me if you disagree with my pizza and wine pairing. But I have done a lot of research, if you know what I mean, so my opinion must count for something.

1. Food: Mac n' Cheese
Wine: Riesling
Why it works: Mac n’ Cheese is a bowl of rich, salty, cheesy, creamy goodness. Riesling is sweet, and refreshing. Sweet and salty? Yum. And it’s a good way to refresh yourself on the breaks you take while inhaling the cheesy goodness.

2. Food: Ramen
Wine: Pinot Grigio
Why it works: Ramen is a salty, simple broth, with plain noodles. Pinot grigio is kind of what I consider the wine version to be. Simple, not too sweet, and a “goes with a lot of things” kind of wine.

3. Food: Pizza
Wine: Pinot Noir
Why it works: For pizza we are talking your basic red sauce, cheese or pepperoni, maybe some veggies but nothing crazy. For wine, we are talking a simple light red wine, nothing too heavy because pizza is already pretty heavy. Something substantial enough to compliment the cheesy, carby goodness of late night delivery pizza.

4. Food: Fried Chicken
Wine: Moscato or a Sparkling Wine
Why it works: Fried chicken is crunchy, salty, and delicious. It is also a super heavy food choice, so keep it light, sweet, and super refreshing with moscato, or a sparkling wine. Heck, even a bottle of champagne could work! Fried chicken and champagne… A match made in Heaven.

5. Food: Turkey Sandwich
Wine: Chardonnay
Why it works: Probably the healthiest food choice on the list, and it’s a basic college staple for a solid meal that requires minimal work in the kitchen. Turkey is a lighter meat choice, Chardonnay is a lighter wine choice. I’m sure there is a more textbook reasoning behind this nice pairing, but all I know is that they taste good together, and that works for me.

6. Food: Taco Bell
Wine: Rosé
Why it works: Honestly I have no idea, but I had it once and my Crunchwrap Supreme was perfectly complimented by the sweet, crisp rosé. It probably shouldn’t work, but it does. No way José? More like yes way Rosé.

7. Food: Cereal
Wine: If you are having cereal for dinner, just give up and drink whatever wine you have. Boxed, franzia, $2 buck chuck, it really doesn’t matter, its cereal.
Why it works: One word. College.

So, like I said, take these recommendations with a grain of salt (and a wedge of lime, but that’s a whole different story) and try out some of my college staples and wine pairings. At least you know they can’t be bad because, well, unless you are actually a classically trained sommelier, than you probably don’t know any better anyways! And wine is wine, am I right?

*If you're not 21 don't drink, it's illegal, duh.*