Chardonnay vinegar.
Read that again. Chardonnay vinegar on crisps, from Tesco, sold next to multipacks of Quavers and meal deal sandwiches. The audacity is remarkable. The product is better than the audacity deserves.
The vinegar here is genuinely different from malt. Rounder, fruitier, less aggressive. There’s acidity without assault, sourness without violence. If regular salt and vinegar crisps are a punk band, these are the same band twenty years later doing an acoustic album.
The sophistication question
Can you taste that it’s specifically Chardonnay vinegar? Almost certainly not. You can taste that it’s wine vinegar rather than malt, and that distinction matters. But identifying the grape variety in a crisp seasoning would require talents I don’t possess.
Who are these for?
People who find regular salt and vinegar too harsh. People hosting gatherings where premium positioning matters. People who want to feel good about their crisp choices without paying Tyrrell’s prices.
A successful premium product from an unlikely source.
