Pairing Wine and Cereal

On my Facebook page this week, I posted George Carlin’s profound question, “What wine goes with Captain Crunch?” In response, my friend Len sent me Gary Vaynerchuk’s hilarious WineLibrary TV episode from five years ago entitled “What Wine Pairs with Cereal.”

Gary’s 19-minute episode was so great that I decided to devote a blog article to it. Truth be told, I’ve done a few interesting pairings myself, including Halloween candy, fudge and the ever-famous Girl Scout Cookies. But I think that cereal takes pairings to a whole new level.

Two of Gary’s favorite things are wine and cereal. So why not combine the two?

In his segment, he focuses on three cereals, Cap’n Crunch, Gary’s all-time favorite, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, a close second for him, and Lucky Charms, a cereal he isn’t quite as big a fan of.

Here are Gary’s takeaways:

Cap’n Crunch

Gary paired Cap’n Crunch with a semi-sweet German Riesling (2007 Von Kesselstatt Spatlese Scharzhofberger Riesling, $30). He described the wine as having notes of golden apple, Lipton Tea, pear, peach, papaya and mint, with nice acidity. He described the combination as “The pinnacle, the most hedonistic eating event!” He recommends this combination for a Sunday brunch or an Oscar night party.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Gary paired this cereal with an oaky Chardonnay (2007 Landmark Overlook Chardonnay, $20). He described the wine as a big Chardonnay with a lot of oak, cream, butterscotch and caramel. He also mentioned candied apple and a little charcoal. His description of the pairing: “I feel like I just ate crème brulee!”

Lucky Charms

Gary got very excited about how colorful this cereal is J But he was much less excited about his pairing. He paired Lucky Charms with a Cliquot Demi-sec Champagne ($40) that he described as being slightly sweet with good acidity and notes of almond paste and chocolate chip cookie dough. He said that the combination felt disjointed and that other Champagnes worked much better.

I highly encourage you to watch the entire 19-minute video. Gary’s enthusiasm is infectious. Even though I haven’t eaten Cap’n Crunch in what feels like a million years, I’m almost tempted to try it, of course with wine.

Please let us know if you:

• Have tried wine and cereal and what you thought;
• Are now motivated to try wine and cereal;
• Have any other ideas for interesting wine pairings.

I look forward to hearing your comments.

Cheers!