Holiday ‘Tres Marias’ Dips & Pomegranate Orange Margaritas!

Three Mexican-inspired dips with a holiday twist, paired with Pomegranate Orange Margs, or a Rosé Garnacha if you're here for the wine!

I was inspired by an awesome local Mexican restaurant called Milpa in Calgary for this one. They have something on their menu called Tres Marias, which is an assortment of 3 Mexican dips that are absolutely delish.

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I recently went there and shared it (with a Margarita in hand, of course) with a couple of friends and it was such a fun and delicious way to start off our meal! I wanted to recreate something similar, but with a bit of a holiday twist. SO, I came up with three festive Mexican-inspired dips: Spiced White Bean Dip, Cranberry Green Apple Salsa, and Avocado Feta Pomegranate Dip. Keep scrolling for the recipes for all three! Note that these are for paid members of the Wine & Dip community, but you can access them with a free trial if you decide to sign up! And don’t worry, the Margarita recipe is free :)

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Of course I had to make Margaritas to pair with this festive dip trio, so I whipped up some Pomegranate Orange Margs, and they were awesome. Seriously, I’ve been craving them every night since I made them. SO. GOOD. Here’s the recipe!

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Pomegranate Orange Margarita

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz Reposado Tequila

• 1 oz Triple Sec

• 2oz Pomegranate Juice

• Juice from 1/2 lime

• Juice from 1/2 orange (I used a large juicy mandarin orange and I highly recommend you do the same!)

• Lime wedge and flaked salt for the rim

Directions

1. Salt the rim of your glass: Pour some salt onto a plate or in a shallow dish. Run a lime wedge along the rim of your glass to wet it a bit, then dip it in the salt!

2. Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into your glass. Optional to add ice cubes. Garnish with an orange slice or a lime wedge and enjoy!

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If you’re here for the wine, don’t worry!

While I highly recommend you try this margarita, all three of these dips also pair super well with Rosé! Spefically a Spanish Rosé Garnacha. I paired it with this stunning Rosé Garnacha by Vinos del Viento and it was perfect. This is a beautifully vibrant, coral-coloured rosé with flavours of tart red berries, soft juicy citrus, and some savoury herbal undertones. It’s light-to medium bodied and dry, meaning it’s not sweet! Even though the intense fruit flavour might make you think it is! Fun fact: I picked out flavours of both Pomegranate and orange in this wine, just like the margarita!

Why does this pairing work?

• The juicy fruit flavours balance out the spice in all three of the dips, and the alcohol in the wine is low enough that it doesn’t amp up that chili spice!

• The acidity contrasts the creaminess in the bean dip and the avocado dip, helping to refresh the palate between bites.

• And finally, the flavour matching is on point! Especially for the salsa and the avocado dip. The bean dip has some matching citrus from the lemon, but in general it’s more of a contrasting pairing (bright juicy fruit from the wine and creamy earthy spice from the dip). The Cranberry Green Apple Salsa and the Avocado Feta Pomegranate dip, on the other hand, both have red fruit in them (cranberry and pomegranate) and fresh squeezed orange juice, which are some of the dominant flavours in this wine! And the margarita ;)