A fun opportunity to pair wine and Girl Scout Cookies presented itself today. And, I am never one to shy away from rather odd pairings…and though this one isn’t too far out there…there were a couple of surprises! Here’s the scoop…or sip…or 411 on how it works to marry some of the iconic profiles of GSC favorites and wines in a way that doesn’t put you into a sugar coma.
I pulled 4 cookies and 4 wines. As always, we did a little palate cleansing with a dry sparkly wine from Italy…Asti region…but sans the residual sugars you might expect!
First, we played with Lemonades and 3 Paisanos, a blend of Chardonnay, Viognier, and off dry Riesling. The notes of citrus with lemon and grapefruit notes played really well with the buttery creaminess of the Lemonade cookies and created a nice balance of sweet, buttery and tart!
Next up was the Do-si-dos/Peanut Butter Sandwich with a pre-mixed wine cocktail - Cipriani Bellini. Sassy and snarky from the gate, it is possible we joked about a drinking like an adult, but really and truly…this was the most surprising pairing! Peanut butter can be a trick to pair with, but this pairing heightened both the sip and the bite in a delightful way!
Third, we married the Caramel deLites/Samoas with a Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz blend from the Yalumba winery in Australia. And. Oh. My! This pairing was absolutely the class favorite! The equation of caramel + chocolate + coconut +new world cab sauv + shiraz = all kinds of blissful! Moments of humming and swaying happened and all was good!
Finally, we introduced the classic Thin Mint to a Chilean Carmenere. This was not our favorite pairing…though there was no “ewww”…there was no “sigh” either.
I also brought in a little Dubliner Cheddar. Note…having a many sweet moments sometimes needs to balance out with a little savory. For the most part, the crowd had an expectation for a sweet afternoon - but we balanced it…sweet, savory, dry and delicious!