{Corn Chile Souffle and Andouille Sausage with Graziano Zinfandel}

Wine: 2004 Graziano Zinfandel, Mendocino, California. $14.99
Major flavor components of the dish: fresh corn on the cob, bacon, serrano pepper, farmer's market andouille sausage
Winery Website: http://www.grazianofamilyofwines.com/graziano.html
Result: I raise my glass to this match!

Holy Crap! This is my first submission, and already I have to admit to a rookie mistake. Or, I would've thought it would be a mistake. One thing about Zinfandel is that it's often powerfully alcoholic. And when you combine a high-alcohol wine with a spicy-hot dish like corn CHILE souffle with fiery ANDOUILLE sausage, what you can end up with is a scorched tongue. You would've thought that I'd've forsaken the zinfandel for the fruity, lower-alcohol Chinon (Cabernet Franc) that I was also considering. But I'm not booksmart. To be perfectly honest, I picked up the Zinfandel because I liked the idea of serving a New World-inspired meal (the souffle being based on America's favorite native son, corn) with America's favorite New World varietal, Zinfandel. It was only after I realized I was really enjoying the match that I bothered to consult the alcohol content. And by that time it was difficult to make out the small print, but there it was nevertheless: 14.5%. Frankly, I'm surprised it worked. But there were aspects of this wine that saved the day. It was nice and fruity, there was some white pepper that blended in seamlessly with the heat of the souffle and the sausage. Bottom line, I can vouch for it. Try it with a similar recipe, and if you think I'm wrong or incompetent, fire me an angry email.