Bacon and Bubbly Event at Wine Expo, Santa Monica

You’ve undoubtedly heard of bacon being paired with various alcoholic beverages. Like bourbon. And beer. And red wine. But how about bacon and sparkling wine? The wine experts at Wine Expo have known for a while that bacon + bubbly = bliss!

Wine Expo is an oenophile’s oasis, located in a nondescript strip mall on the Santa Monica Boulevard. They specialize in Italian wines, sparkling wines and champagne. Inside, you will find a huge selection of quality wines, friendly, knowledgeable staff, and a lovely, intimate tasting room. There’s a complete lack of pretentiousness about wine at this shop. The staff knows what makes a great wine, and wants to share their passion for and knowledge of wine with their customers. Got a food and wine pairing dilemma? They can help you find the perfect bottle for your difficult-to-pair foods and recipes.

One of Wine Expo’s most popular tastings is the Bacon and Bubbly tasting, which is held on the second Friday and Saturday of every month. At this event, they serve 5 different flavors of Bacon Freak gourmet bacon with 5 different sparkling wines, along with a platter of nuts, olives, bread and crackers. Now I love bacon, and I love sparkling wine, but I had to admit I was a bit skeptical about how they would go together. But all my skepticism disappeared with my first sip and nibble. They complimented each other perfectly. Like they were soul mates, destined for each other… I could taste how they worked, but couldn’t explain why they worked so well together.

As Wine Expo owner Ali explained, “When pairing sparkling wine and bacon, you need to choose a wine that is high in acidity. The high acidity of the wine cuts through the richness of the fat in the bacon.” This “mystical bond” was heavenly on my palate. The weight of the wine held its own against the meatiness of the thick-cut bacon. Biting into the crisp fat of the bacon and feeling the bubbles of the wine penetrate it felt inherently sinful, luxurious and rich. Yes indeed, they truly did work some wonders together.

There were no “set” pairings. We were encouraged to experiment and combine various bacons with various bubblies to taste how each bacon brings out the various flavors of each of the wines, and to come up with our own favorite pairings. The next Bacon + Bubbly event will be held this Friday and Saturday, September 13th and 14th. Check out Wine Expo’s Events Page for more info. Don’t live near Santa Monica? Wine Expo ships wines! And Bacon Freak ships bacon… Put ‘em together and you’ve got the ability to host your own bacon & bubbly party.

Here’s what I sampled at my tasting. The Sparkling Wines:
• Robert Blanc de Blancs Resérve Grand Cru à Mesnil sur Oger
• Leclerc Briant Brut Les Crayeres Premier Cru à Cumières
• Arunda Metodo Classico Extra Brut Riserva Alto Adige Italy
• Gardet Selected Resérve à Chigny-les-Roses
• Brut d’Argent Brut Rosé, Jura France

And The Bacon:
• For the Love of Hog Apple Cinnamon
• Bourbon Street Vanilla Bourbon
• Rocco’s Private Reserve Sun-Dried Tomato
• Big Daddy’s Cracked Pepper Garlic
• Coastal Caliente Chipotle

Categorized in: bacon, Events, Featured