Vino Blanco

After serving Prosecco at my little wine party, I moved on to a Sauvignon Blanc that I first tried in a restaurant while eating a vat of steamed mussels (Sauvignon Blanc and shellfish is a common pairing). I liked it so much that I wrote down the name so that I could check it out later. (I usually don't do that because I forget to look at my list anyway. Having an iPhone makes those little notes more accessible.) Plus, I figured that a $45 bottle of wine in a restaurant couldn't be more than $20 in a wine store.



I was right! The 2007 Domaine Mardon Quincy is about $15.99 in most stores. And it's delicious. I did a little research and found out that Quincy lies approximately 50 miles west of Sancerre in the Loire Valley, arguably the most notable region for Sauvignon Blanc. (No wonder it's tasty!) It has a crisp minerality with citrus notes, and although I didn't have any shellfish on hand, I got lucky with some goat cheese, another common pairing with Sauvignon Blanc. I served the goat cheese on dried apricots drizzled with a touch of honey then sprinkled with toasted pine nuts and fresh thyme leaves. I made sure to top the apricot with plenty of goat cheese so that the acidity of the Sauvignon Blanc had something to complement (you wouldn't want to pair anything overly sweet with it). I've served this little nosh at parties before and it's always a big hit. And I'm not even going to write it up as a proper recipe. It's more of an assemblage. Think of the photo below as my own personal Ikea assembly instructions. Just follow the picture.