Taste of Texas: Corks and Corn Husks
Texas Wine Collective – Carl’s Corner
Taste of Texas: Corks and Corn Husks (Tamales) 14-Dec-2025
Hello, I’m Carl Hudson, TWC Wine Educator, and your host for this pairing featuring 3 delicious varieties of tamales to celebrate the holidays, paired with wines from our TWC partners – Brennan Vineyards, Lost Oak Winery, and McPherson Cellars.
There will be one session at 1:00 pm in the TWC Event Center. Reservations and prepayment are required. Please check the www.texaswinecollective.com website to make your reservations: and join us for a fun and delicious pairing.
Discussions with TWC operations manager Amber Saidler, Chef Marshall Lirette, Culinary Manager of the TWC Cork and Fork Food Truck, and Events Coordinator Becca Willingham Lirette, have led to the menu selections. Thanks to Amber, Marshall, and Becca for all their help in planning and implementing this Taste of Texas: Corks and Corn Husks (Tamales) pairing.
Reservations and prepayment are required. Please check the website to make your reservations: www.texaswinecollective.com and join us for a fun and delicious pairing.
While enjoying this tasting, some history of the origins of tamales will be presented along with tasting notes for the wines.
Pairing #1: Spiced Chicken Tamale
McPherson Cellars Sangiovese Rosé 2024 TX High Plains
Lost Oak Winery Viognier 2024 TX High Plains
Pairing #2: Traditional Pork Tamale
Brennan Vineyards Tempranillo Black Label Barrel Reserve 2023 Texas
Lost Oak Winery Holiday Red 2023 TX High Plains
Pairing #3: A Dessert-style Tamale
Lost Oak Winery Holiday White 2023 TX High Plains
Brennan Vineyards Comanche Rose 2024 TX High Plains
A 20%-off discount is offered on purchase of any three or more of today’s wines.
Upcoming Taste of Texas Pairings:
Toast to Tapas Sunday, January 18th, 2026 1:00 pm
Mac and Cheese for the Win(e). February 15th, 2026 1:00 pm
Tamales and Wine, Sounds Mighty Fine
Because tamales are such an important part of Texas cuisine, especially during the holiday period, it seems appropriate to share some information on this traditional comfort food as we approach the Christmas holidays.
History suggests tamales were created by the Aztecs who believed the first corn plant sprouted from the grave of one of their gods. Archeologists have identified this “original corn” as the seed pod from a native grass called teosinte that had just a few kernels with very hard shells. These hard shells made the kernels difficult to eat, but evidence suggests that as ancient farmers selected the best kernels to re-plant over 6-7 millennia, natural genetic mutation generated more kernels and modified the hard, outer coating of teosinte seeds creating maize plants in South America, Central America, and Mexico similar to corn we know today.
Tamales are typically made with ground corn, called masa or masa harina, and can be filled with meat, seafood, cheeses, vegetables, herbs, chilies, fruits, nuts, chocolate, or any number of preparations according to taste. Corn flour was VERY difficult to make in centuries past until two key developments were made. One, mentioned above, was the agricultural modification of corn to give softer hulls, better taste, and more nutrition.
The second was a process called nixtamalization where maize or corn kernels are soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution making it much easier to transform the kernels into a meal or flour-like form. This process not only makes the grinding of corn kernels easier, but also improves the nutritional value, flavor, and aroma, as well as significantly reducing native toxins (molds in the corn) that can be harmful to humans.
It is not clear how the ancient Mesoamericans discovered nixtamalization but historians suggest they probably heated lime-rich stones or mussel shells that were then added to pots to cook corn. This made the cooking liquid alkaline in nature. Slaked lime (calcium hydroxide), lye (potassium hydroxide), and soda ash (from the burning of certain plants) all can create alkaline solutions that were used in various regions.
Soaking and cooking in an alkaline solution causes a number of chemical changes in the corn. Cell wall components become soluble so the kernels soften and the hulls loosen. The grain hydrates and absorbs calcium, potassium, or sodium (depending on the alkali used) while starches swell and gelatinize making the kernels easier to grind, helping to more readily form a workable dough. This also changes the corn's nutritional matrix making proteins and nutrients more available to the human body.
A modern industrial process of enzymatic nixtamalization has been developed for large-scale corn milling. Certain enzymes can penetrate the grain and help dissolve the corn hull. This makes nixtamal or hominy that can be easily ground into masa. Nixtamalization significantly deactivates (over 90%) mycotoxins or molds that commonly infect corn and are considered detrimental to human health.
A primary nutritional benefit of nixtamalization is to render corn protein more digestible so that natural tryptophan can be absorbed and converted into niacin. Secondary benefits arise from the corn's absorption of minerals, like calcium, iron, copper, and zinc - all important components in the human diet.
Corn prepared in this way is called hominy or nixtamal. Whole fresh nixtamal may be used in the preparation of pozole, menudo, and other foods. When dried, it can be ground to make masa (nixtamal dough) which is then used to make tortillas and tamales. When dried and finely ground, it is called masa harina or masa flour.
Pairing #1: Spiced Chicken Tamale
McPherson Cellars Sangiovese Rosé 2024 TX High Plains
Sangiovese 100% was sourced from Texas High Plains vineyards. The fruit was mechanically harvested, pressed, and fermented approx. 28 days at 57oF in SS tank. The wine was aged in SS tank and bottled @ 12.3% ABV, 0.3% RS (essentially DRY). Sangiovese is the primary red grape of Spain and produces terrific wines from the regions of Rioja, Ribera del Duero, and Toro. It is also a key grape variety for the McPherson Cellars portfolio. Kim McPherson and Spenser Igo have highlighted Texas-style aromas and flavors in this dry, soft pink Sangiovese rosé. The aromas are maraschino cherry, jasmine, and rose petal and flavors of cranberry, pomegranate, and star fruit follow with a soft, yet flavor-rich mouthfeel. Pair this with a chef salad or club sandwich, grilled chicken or pork chops, a loaded charcuterie platter, and especially with chicken fajitas or spiced chicken tamales.
Lost Oak Winery Viognier 2024 TX High Plains
This is Viognier 100% - 2/3 sourced from Diamante Doble Vineyard in Tokio, TX, and 1/3 sourced from Rowland Taylor Vineyards, Brownfield, TX, both in Terry County. Fruit was mechanically harvested, directly pressed, and fermented separately in SS tanks at 57oF for approx. 28 days. The cuvées were aged 10 months in SS tanks, blended, and bottled @ 15.8% ABV, 0% RS (DRY). Viognier originated in the Rhône Valley of southern France and has become a workhorse grape variety in many warm, arid regions of the wine world, including Texas. It can produce bright, fruity, floral wines when aged in SS tank, or can deliver rich, round wines with baking spice aromas and flavors similar to Chardonnay if aged in oak barrels. This bold, higher alcohol white is bursting with aromas of white flowers, honeydew melon, nectarine, and dragon fruit. Crisp citrus flavors are softened by peach, starfruit, and melon. The lingering finish boasts crisp acidity that reminds one of ripe grapefruit. Suggested pairings are grilled lemon shrimp skewers with couscous, navy bean and ham soup topped with cotija cow’s milk cheese, Cornish game hen in white wine sauce, and a citrus-infused ambrosia salad for dessert. Mexican fare like chicken street tacos with mango salsa and spiced chicken tamales offer great pairings for the holidays.
Archeologists have found evidence that corn and the production of tamales date back approximately 9,000 years. Aztecs considered tamales sacred, basically a food of the gods, and they considered maize or corn a central part of their cultural identity. So, tamales made from corn played an important role in their rituals, religious celebrations, weddings, funerals, and festivals. Tamales were not only stuffed with special ingredients for these events but were decorated in many different, and often elaborate ways. Mayan hieroglyphs of tamales have been found on ceramic cooking pots supporting the belief that tamales were a primary foodstuff in the Mesoamerican diet.
You might expect one of the world's oldest recipes to be straightforward in its preparation, and although simple in concept, tamales are remarkably labor-intensive to make. Ancient cooks treated corn kernels with an alkali solution to break down the tough cell walls and bind the dough together. This nixtamalization process made the backbreaking work of grinding corn a little bit easier. But cooks still had to prepare dough, fillings, wrap the tamales, and tend to them for hours while they cooked. It was hard work, especially with traditional tools.
For ancient Mezoamericans, tamales also served a practical purpose as hunters, soldiers, and travelers carried the nutritious, filling, and portable cakes while away from home, sort of like an ancient protein or Clif bar. Over time, tamales evolved from a festival treat or an on-the-go snack to a culturally significant dish.
Although pork, beef, and chicken are popular tamale fillings today, this tradition only dates back a few hundred years to the time pigs, cattle, and poultry were first introduced by European colonizers. Pre-Columbian cooks had no shortage of fillings, though. They used meat from deer, rabbit, turkey, armadillo, turtle, fish, and frogs while flavoring tamales with chili peppers, tomatoes, beans, squash, flowers, wild onions, mushrooms, and local herbs. Further, tamales were not limited to savory flavors as honey, fruits, and nuts were often used to make sweetened versions.
Aztec tamales were cooked in earthen ovens heated by steam released from cane stalks grown and harvested for the express purpose of cooking tamales. Because tamales held great religious and spiritual significance, it was customary for Aztec women to stay up for two to three days preparing and cooking tamales before a wedding or festival.
In many regions the most common method of cooking tamales is by steaming in a spherical vessel known as a tamalero. The other common method of cooking tamales is on a large flat stone called a comal – also used to cook tortillas. In addition to corn husks, banana and plantain leaves were and still are commonly used to wrap tamales. Specific tamales made for hunters and travelers were prepared with an extra coating of wood ashes to create a hardened 'shell' around the tamales that would help them keep for 2-3 weeks.
Tamales have been eaten for centuries — the Mayans, Aztecs, Incas, Toltecs, and Olmecs ate them — and corn had a special place in Mesoamerica. These bundles of corn were offered as sacrifices to the gods as many believed corn was not only used by the gods to create humans but also given by the gods to nourish the people. Tamales were and still are eaten all year, but during the holiday season, which for most Mexicans and many of the Catholic faith extends from the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12 through Three Kings’ Day on Jan. 6, tamales are a culinary requirement, much like Christmas cookies.
So why tamales at Christmas? There are several theories about why tamales have become so identifiable with the birth of Christ. Tamales, because they were made with sacred corn – the masa dough and wrapped in corn husks - became part of ritual offerings at special occasions like baptisms, weddings, Dia Del Los Muertos, and, of course, Christmas. Since tamales are filled and then wrapped in corn husks, they have been associated with the Virgin Mary as a symbol of her carrying the baby Jesus, especially if the tamale contains an olive. Making tamales is labor-intensive, so families and friends often gather in the holiday spirit of togetherness to prepare them at tamalada parties.
One good story about a family’s Christmas tamale experiences included siblings originally from Austin, TX, who gather for an annual tamalada to uphold a tradition that goes back several generations to San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Each year, grandmother would prepare for the tamalada with help from her children as a way to hand down the recipe to future generations. They kneaded the masa with bare hands and added lard, cumin, garlic, oregano, ancho chile sauce, salt, pepper, and savory meat broth.
Pre-soaked corn husks (hojas de elote) were spread with masa mixture, filled with ancho chile-seasoned shredded pork, beef, or chicken, wrapped, bundled, and tied for steaming. It took the whole family to prepare the tamales in assembly line fashion. Often conjunto music on the radio kept the cooks stepping lively in the kitchen. Once done, the entire family then enjoyed tamales as the central part of a holiday meal that included beans, rice, soft flour tortillas, sodas, coffee, Mexican hot chocolate and pan dulce or sweet bread for dessert. Even though grandmother has passed, the family still gathers each Christmas season and continues to pass down the family recipe while enjoying this special tradition. (8)
Pairing #2: Traditional Pork Tamale
Brennan Vineyards Tempranillo Black Label Barrel Reserve 2023 Texas
The fruit was sourced from Newburg Vineyard, Comanche County and Lahey Vineyards, Terry County, Texas High Plains, thus the Texas appellation. Machine harvested fruit was destemmed, crushed, and fermented in SS tank at 65-85oF with 25 days skin contact. Pump-overs during fermentation were done to improve extraction of color, flavor, and tannins from the grapes. After fermentation, the wine was racked into used French and American oak barrels, aged 24 months, and bottled @ 13.3% ABV. Aromas of ripe cherry and red plum fruit with strong notes of toasty oak, vanilla, and clove lift from the glass. The flavors follow with red fruit - cherry, currant, and plum – boosted by notes of fig, sweet pipe tobacco, seasoned leather, and vanilla baking spices. The tannins were mellowed by the aging process to be moderately soft and dusty leading to a smooth, lush finish. Pair with bacon-spinach artichoke dip, grilled or smoked bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin, baked, smoked, or BBQ’d turkey or chicken, and pretty much anything with chocolate or cherries for dessert. It also complements Mexican fare like chicken fajitas with avocado cream sauce and traditional pork tamales.
Lost Oak Winery Holiday Red 2023 TX High Plains
This blend comprises Sangiovese 52%, Tempranillo 41%, Petit Verdot 5%, Merlot 1%, and Cabernet Sauvignon 1%, all sourced from Texas High Plains vineyards. Machine harvested fruit was destemmed and crushed; cuvées were fermented in SS tanks for 12-24 days at 60-85oF; wine was pressed from the skins and aged an average 24 months in mostly used American oak barrels. The cuvées were blended and bottled @ 14.9% ABV, 1.0% RS (hint of sweetness). Holiday is a traditional blend produced by Lost Oak made in a fruit forward style with just a hint of sweetness, designed to please most wine drinkers and accompany your favorite holiday fare at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. Like its predecessors (since 2014) this wine is fruity, fun, and ready to drink. It is bright ruby in color with aromas of plum and brown sugar. On the palate it offers a slight tartness reminiscent of cranberries enhanced by dark berry fruit, baking spices, and vanilla. The lingering finish brings good balance between alcohol, tannins, and sweetness with notes of fig and overripe plum. This versatile blend pairs with roasted or smoked turkey, ham, pot roast, grilled steaks, and most traditional holiday side dishes. Try pumpkin pie for dessert and serve Holiday with black eyed peas at the New Year. Share this with family and friends as you celebrate throughout the late fall and winter months – especially with tamales on Christmas Eve.
Most of us think of Mexico as the home of tamales. In Mexico, tamales begin with a dough made from ground nixtamalized corn (hominy), called masa or masa harina, that is combined with lard or vegetable shortening, along with broth or water, to make a thick batter. It is traditional to whisk the resulting batter to produce a soft, fluffy texture. Modern recipes often use baking powder to achieve a similar effect. Chili purées or dried chili powders are often added to the batter, which in addition to adding spice imparts a reddish tint. Tamales are generally wrapped in corn husks or plantain leaves before being steamed, with the choice of wrapping depending on the region.
Today, tamales are a source of pride and national identity, celebrated at festivals and events. For many years, they were considered low class cuisine. Wealthy Mexicans opted for European cuisine, at least in polite society. But tamales persisted not only among the lower classes but also as a guilty pleasure for the elites. In the late 19th century, the Mexican Revolution ignited a new sense of pride in traditional culture and Mexican society began to not only accept but to celebrate their culture, and tamales as an important part of that culture.
Tamale-making is a ritual that has been part of Mexican life since pre-Hispanic times, when special fillings and forms were designated for each specific festival or life event. Preparation is complex and time-consuming, and provides an excellent example of Mexican communal cooking, where this task usually falls to the women in a traditional tamalada, or tamale-making party. Today, tamales are typically filled with meats, cheeses, or vegetables, especially chilies. Tamales with both sweet and savory fillings are a favorite comfort food in Mexico, eaten at both breakfast and dinner. Street vendors throughout Mexico can be seen serving tamales from huge, steaming, covered pots called tamaleras.
The traditional tamale in Oaxaca contains chicken and mole sauce. A special version, the Oaxacan dulce breakfast tamale typically contains pineapple, raisins, blackberries, and often the local white cheese topped with a chocolaty mole negro. Similar versions from South America may contain raisins, pineapple, and coconut.
Tamales are found throughout Central and South America, from the Amazon to the Andes. Tamales in Brazil often contain corn mixed with sugar and coconut. Caribbean tamales may be made with little or no filling and eaten, sort of like cornbread, with other foods such as grilled meats or salted fish. A cornmeal porridge made with masa and meat is common in Cuba. In other regions, ingredients like the tuberous starchy root of the cassava plant, ripe plantain, potato, or rice can be used, with or without corn masa, to create a thicker, sturdier tamale dough.
Tamales are common in the Philippines and Guam, which were at one time governed by Spain as a province of Mexico. Some are made with rice rather than corn and are stuffed with seasoned chicken, pork, or seafood with the addition of peanuts, coconut milk, and sugar. They can be wrapped in banana leaves or corn husks for cooking.
In Guatemala eating tamales at midnight on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve is an important custom. “Black” tamales are sweet and stuffed with chocolate seasoned with blackberries and honey or cane sugar. Additional ingredients may include almonds, plums, seeds, and mild peppers. Guatemalan "red" tamales are made from corn dough stuffed with pork, chicken, olives, peppers, and sometimes tomatoes and raisins seasoned with recado rojo spice mixture, usually wrapped in banana leaves for cooking. Cream or “white” tamales include cheese and anise seeds and are made with a thicker, sturdier dough of rice and/or potatoes rather than corn.
The recado rojo spice mixture normally includes annatto seeds, oregano, cumin, clove, cinnamon, black pepper, allspice, garlic, and salt. The annatto seeds dye the mixture a distinctive red-orange color.
Pairing #3: A Dessert-style Tamale
Lost Oak Winery Holiday White 2023 TX High Plains
This fun blend contains Gewurztraminer 52% and Muscat Canelli 48%, both sourced from Diamante Doble Vineyard, Tokio, TX, Terry County. Machine harvested fruit was fermented cold and aged for only 2 months in SS tank (no malolactic transformation); blended, sweetened, stabilized, and bottled @ 13.0% ABV, 1.0% RS (hint of residual sweetness). White Holiday was designed as a perfect complement to the traditional Holiday Red blend that is produced annually. This is also made in a fruit forward style with a pleasant hint of sweetness on the palate to enjoy with any holiday meal at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year. The color is light straw with a bit of twinkle. The wine is fragrant with aromas of white flowers and ripe melon. Flavors include clove, ginger, and spiced pear. The Holiday magic finishes with hints of lychee fruit, melon, green fig, and candied tangerine. This white wine is versatile at your holiday table offering fun accompaniment to a wide range of dishes and should please most wine drinkers. Enjoy with Fischer and Wieser Raspberry Chipotle Sauce over cream cheese, oven roasted or smoked turkey, honey-baked ham, your favorite tamales on Christmas Eve, and black-eyed peas and ham on New Year’s day. Holiday pies (apple, peach, pumpkin, pecan) and other desserts, like sweet tamales, pair well with this white wine. Add some spices and warm it to make fragrant mulled wine for cool evenings or add chunks of fruit for an enhanced Sangria experience.
Brennan Vineyards Comanche Rose 2024 TX High Plains
This is 97% Muscat Blanc with 3% Tempranillo added to give the color, all sourced from Reddy Vyds, Brownfield, TX, Terry County. Machine harvested Muscat fruit at an average 22oBrix was directly pressed and fermented cold for about 25 days in SS tanks. The cuvée was aged in SS tank for about 6 months before being blended with Tempranillo, sweetened, stabilized, and bottled @ 14.4% ABV, approx. 3% RS (semi-sweet). The wine is pale dusty rose in color with aromas and flavors of mandarin oranges, orange blossoms, honeydew melon, ripe peaches, and hints of Mandarin orange. The mouthfeel is light and refreshing with subtle sweetness on the palate. This well-balanced wine with soft acids on the finish pairs well with BBQ chicken or pork, grilled or baked oysters, creamy soft cheeses, moderately spicy fare like curry, Thai, or Mexican, and can pair beautifully with many dessert options, in this case, a sweet-flavored tamale.
Traditionally, tamales didn't stop at the northern borders of Mexico. Several Native American tribes prepared foods using corn dough that resembled tamales. In Louisiana, descendants of Spanish settlers from central Mexico have been making tamales for several centuries. In the Mississippi Delta, tamales were introduced by soldiers returning from the Mexican-American war and/or decades later by migrant cotton harvesters from Mexico. African American farm workers across the southern U.S. developed a heavily seasoned, spicy “hot tamale” made with cornmeal instead of masa that was steamed in corn husks.
While tamales were well-known in southern California and south Texas, it wasn't until introduction at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 that tamales became a popular ethnic food in the U.S. This major event, often dubbed as the fair that changed America, was also called the World's Columbian Exposition held to celebrate the 400th Anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the New World. Many innovations showcased American culture, architecture, and industry. A number of edibles were introduced at the fair, including Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum, Quaker Oats, shredded wheat cereal, Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, frankfurters and Vienna sausages, along with tamales.
Soon after the fair tamale stands sprang up on street corners across America and the public loved them. Some of you may remember the story of the San Antonio Chili Queens who set up stands around that city as early as the 1860s serving chili, tortillas, beans, and tamales (discussed in the Taste of Texas: Stellar Choices for Chili in Jan-2024).
Many white Americans encountered these tamales and were surprised by the spicy flavors. An Atlantic Monthly article in 1898 described tamales as a molten, pepper-sauced chicken croquette in a cornmeal crust with an overcoat of corn husk – a diabolical combination that tastes like a bonfire. For the uninitiated, eating something so spicy was a revelation.
A tamale craze in the 1920s even inspired songs like "Here Comes the Hot Tamale Man" and "They're Red Hot," both of which have been covered my modern artists like Eric Clapton and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
While traditional style tamales are featured at ethnic restaurants throughout the United States, some tamales sold in America bear little resemblance to traditional Latino cuisine. Adventurous chefs have created such variations as carrot cake tamales and hot dog tamales with mustard and American cheese, pushing the culture, and cuisine in new directions.
Around the beginning of the 20th century, the name "tamale pie" was given to meat pies and casseroles made with a cornmeal crust and typical tamale fillings. As you can imagine, this led to the now common corn chip or Frito pie. Although characterized as Mexican food, these forms are not particularly popular in Mexican American culture, but rather the individually wrapped, more traditional tamale remains the preferred style.
I know many people who enjoy tamales to help celebrate the holidays, especially on Christmas Eve. My own family began this tradition over 50 years ago with delicious tamales from Pedro’s Tamales in Lubbock, TX. I cherish the memories of those fun dinners with tamales and other Mexican fare shared with family and friends. If you don’t personally participate in a tamalada or have friends who do, there are many places to obtain tamales here in the Texas Hill Country and across south Texas, especially in San Antonio. I am particularly fond of the tasty Mi Tienda versions available from HEB.
Today’s event is just a fun way to kick off your holiday celebrations that may include serving tamales on Christmas Eve. As you plan for your holiday table, and also your everyday menus, include Texas wines with traditional tamales and your other favorite dishes and desserts because they can all pair beautifully with wine. Please enjoy a Taste of Texas with White, Red, Rosé and Sparkling wines that support the grape growers and winemakers here in the Lone Star State.
And remember this, you’ll never have to worry about getting the pairings right IF – you eat what you prefer, drink wines you like, and share with friends you enjoy.
Drink and Eat Well My Friends. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Learn more from these references:
The History Of Tamales, One Of The World's Oldest Recipes, by Cassie Womack, 04-Mar-2024, https://www.tastingtable.com/1529368/history-of-tamales-worlds-oldest/
Tamale, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/tamale
https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/cookingschool/how-to-choose-the-perfect-corn-husks-for-your-tamales/ar-AA1tx1R6?ocid=m
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/nixtamalization
How Did Tamales Become a Christmas Tradition?, by Lauren Mack, updated 11-Dec-2024
8. https://www.folklife.si.edu/magazine/foodways/tamalada-christmas-tamale-tradition/,
La Tamalada: A Christmas Tamale Tradition, by Laura Wilmot Sheehy, 17-Dec-2018
9. https://www.themazatlanpost.com/2018/12/18/why-do-mexicans-eat-tamales-on-christmas