St. Supéry Endive, Pear & Goat Cheese Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

I love the wines from St. Supéry. I’ve been the lucky recipient of some of their wines and love the experience of tasting the wine with one of their own recipes.A testimony to the power of social networking; I’ve been fortunate to get to know Rick Bakas through Twitter. Rick is a Denver area native who is now working as the Director of Social Media for St Supéry and a great example to follow if you want to see how a winery can gain notice and new clients from this new media exposure.

I had attended a couple of local tweetups with Rick and his wife Jaime before they made their permanent move to Napa and although not typically a white wine drinker, have fallen in love with their St. Supéry Sauvignon Blanc. I love that they have a recipe booklet online offering dishes made specifically to accompany their wines so decided to try this salad with the Sauvignon Blanc. It has everything I love; greens, fruit, toasted nuts and a delicious dressing…altogether the perfect dish to serve with this fabulous wine.

The 2009 Sauvignon Blanc is a bright, very light yellow colored wine that is intense and opens with an inviting grapefruit like bouquet. On the palate, the wine is medium bodied, nicely balanced, and slightly viscous. Beyond a refreshing acidity, it is very juicy, and has a nice, long finish. Although I am typically a fan of red wines, I love serving this wine with salads such as this that are light and fruity but contain a cheese component that marries so well on the palate with the flavor profile of this wine. I’ve enjoyed that friends who stuggle (as I have) to notice a particular scent component have no such issue with this Sauvignon Blanc; if you don’t get grapefruit, then you must have a bad cold!

This salad is just as light and bright as the wine and is served with a refreshing citrus vinaigrette…thank you St. Supéry…and everyone enjoy!

Pear & Goat Cheese Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

4 medium endives – slice thinly on the diagonal
1 Bosc pear – peeled, cored and sliced very thin
4 oz. goat cheese – crumbled
1 cup walnuts – chopped, roasted and lightly salted
4 oz. citrus vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Combine the first four ingredients in a mixing bowl and toss with the citrus vinaigrette. Divide among four plates and serve.

Citrus Vinaigrette

2 each: oranges, limes, and lemons – cut in half and juiced
½ cup walnut oil
1 tablespoon shallots – finely chopped
1 teaspoon Dijon style mustard
pinch of salt
dash of white pepper

Place the juice in a non-reactive saucepan. You should have about 1 cup. Reduce the juice by half over medium heat. Allow the juice to cool then add the salt, pepper, shallots, and mustard. Slowly add the walnut oil while whisking the mixture. You will end up with more vinaigrette than needed for the recipe. It will keep in the refrigerator for at least a week.