All I’m gonna say…

As an avid consumer of all things delicious, I often find myself munching on fantastic goodies, or plotting how I’ll get my hands on them (ie elusive wine ice cream).

A few weeks ago, I left the epicenter of hipster heaven to explore the epicenter of foodie heaven: The Food Network Studios.  I can’t say too much about the deep, dark secrets I learned, but I can tell you these guys have every appliance I’ve ever heard of (and many scary-looking ones I hadn’t) and a pantry that’s absolutely to die for.

In addition to discovering that the Food Network sells signature hot dogs at baseball stadiums across the nation, I was also thrilled to discover that they’ve recently partnered with California’s Wente Vineyards to craft some food-friendly sips under the Entwine label.

My favorite part of the 2009 Chardonnay I had the pleasure of sampling was the “suggested pairings” panel on the back.  In my mind, the panel made the difference between reading a recipe and watching a cooking show–instead of having a vague idea of what to do (or what to pair with in the case of wine), this label told me exactly where to go with the citrus-forward, slightly vanilla chardonnay.

On a weekend trip to the Poconos, I passed this juice around with some friends and a pile of the suggested pairings above.  I enjoyed it the most alongside goat cheese (to which I added a drizzle of honey). The creamy sweetness of the cheese was in delicate, delicious harmony with the light oak and warm fruit notes in the wine.

Overall, I love the ideas behind Entwine, and other wine producers who are making the oft-intimidating job of pairing easy for their customers. Cheers to taking the dynamism of exciting cooking shows and translating it to wine –No scary appliances necessary!

The Food Network Uncorked:

Laura Loves: Alton Brown–You’ve got to be pretty cool to be the commentator on Iron Chef America.

Also Giada deLaurentis–when FoodTV needs a wine goddess to rival her, I’ll be there.

Wine bottles with succint, non-generic pairing ideas (like potato chips or S’mores).

Fun Facts: Wente Vineyards is the oldest, continuously operating family-owned winery in the United States.

California has the most chardonnay plantings of anywhere in the world, and the variety is also the top-selling varietal in the United States.

How do I Entwine?: Laura Uncorked entwines with Chardonnay alongside zip-lines, s’mores, and capsizing canoes.