We recently had the lovely experience of sitting down with Sean Andrade, certified sommelier, wine educator, and chief vino dude from The Andrade Wine Group to discuss eating on a budget without having to slurp it down with a 40 of Mickey's.

“The million dollar secret to wine is real simple," says Andrade. "Drink what you like, like what you drink, and the only person’s opinion that matters is the person who’s holding your glass.”

Andrade provided us with a bottle of Barton & Guestier Vouvray, a sensible white wine from France, which goes for about $8/bottle. The suggested pairing? Any sort of Chinese take-out/delivery from one of our favorite San Francisco restaurant dives. Hunan or Szechuan pork, chicken, beef, or perhaps MSG-loaded vegetables could all make for the perfect pairing. Want to mix it up and go for a pizza from Nizario's instead? No problem. It's wine and you can do what you want, which is much like Andrade's motto. "We need to treat wine the way it should be: without attitude or pretense. There’s no wrong pairing with wine and food because it’s your opinion.”

Want to know more? The Andrade Wine Group has several upcoming classes on November 1, including Wine 101: Wine Tasting Basics, and Wine 102: The Art of Pairing Wines with Cheeses & Chocolate. Each class is $49, or you could grab both for $89. Wine and food (if it is a pairing class) are included in the cost. Delicious! More information can be found at the link above.