Wine, Cheese and Brunch make the Perfect Trio
Running out of dinner party ideas? Change things up by inviting your friends over for brunch instead. It’s less stressful than planning a dinner and gives you a whole afternoon to chat and catch up.
If you’re looking for something different to make, this recipe for Berry, Mascarpone, and Oat Crisp Salad is just the thing. With Canadian Mascarpone cheese, it’s deliciously refreshing and very simple to prepare. In fact, it’s bound to become a staple in your brunch rotation.
And to complement the wonderfully creamy taste of the cheese, you want something fruity and sparkly, like the rosé cava wine Freixenet Cordon or a sparkling rosé champagne like R. Pouillon & Fils. Pour yourselves some bubbly and drink to the long afternoon of laughs that lies ahead. 
Ingredients
¼ cup (60 ml) rolled oats
1 tbsp (15 ml) whole wheat flour
2 tbsp (30 ml) brown sugar
1 tbsp (15 ml) soft butter
½ cup (125 ml) Canadian Mascarpone
¼ cup (60 ml) milk
2 tbsp (30 ml) brown sugar, honey or maple syrup
3 small cantaloupes, halved, seeded and diced
1½ cups (375 ) strawberries
1½ cups (375 ) raspberries
1½ cups (375 ) blueberries or any other fruit of your choice
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375oF (190oC).
Mix rolled oats, flour, brown sugar and butter. Spread onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Cook about 10 minutes or until golden and crunchy. Let cool.
Whip Mascarpone with milk and sweeten with brown sugar, honey or maple syrup.
Using a spoon, scoop out the cantaloupe flesh and dice. Mix berries with the cantaloupe, divide into cantaloupe halves, garnish with Mascarpone preparation and oat crisp, and savour.
You’ll find more wine and cheese pairings here as well as in the wine matcher.
You also might enjoy this Google + video wine and cheese tasting via social media.
Yes, a bubbly could work with this dish, but you will need one with quite a bit of residual sugar as both the oats and mascarpone are sweetened. Therefore you will have to opt for at least a demi-sec. A slight problem here is that cantaloupe is not particularly wine-friendly. A medium-cream sherry, with its extra bit of alcohol and touch of sweetness to match the sweetness of the dish, would, actually, be the best match. If you’re not into sherry (or bubbly for that matter!), try an off-dry Riesling or Gewurztraminer.