Friday, February 18, 2011

Stuffed Dates and....well, we're still looking for the perfect pairing

Recently we had some gorgonzola stuffed bacon wrapped dates. These appetizers are amazing, by the way- sweet, salty, wonderful! (take dates, remove pit, stuff with crumbled gorgonzola, wrap in bacon, bake in 375-400 degree oven for 15 minutes.)
However, because of the many flavors involved, its a little hard to pair with wine. We went for a Sauvignon Blanc- specifically the Provenance Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc. It has a bit of Semillion and is aged for 5 months in oak, so its no surprise I like it. (for those of you who don't know, I'm not a huge fan of Sauvignon Blanc - most, especially those from New Zealand, are a bit too acidic and grassy for me, so typically if I like it is has a)some oak aging b) a bit of Semillion or c) both.)
We hoped the slight acidity would cut through the bacon, but we didn't want too acidic or tart, because the dates themselves are a bit sweet. Well, it wasn't a home run pairing, I'll tell you that. It wasn't horrible or offensive; the wine is good, the dates were good, they just didn't really show each other off. We think the acidity was right, but the flavor pairing was off - perhaps it was too citrus for the dates?? We think next time we will try a dry bubbly with it? We'll let you know how it goes!

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