Wine Peeps is an independent wine blog dedicated to helping you get the most bang for your buck in wine. We do this through blind tastings of wine from around the world and calculations of 
Challenging Wine Pairing: Girl Scout Cookies – Thin Mints
By LaGayle ~ March 19th, 2012.
It is cookie season! This is the time of year when Girl Scout Cookies are sold. Many of us have an assortment of these cookies that we’ve purchased from daughters of friends and from young ladies selling them outside grocery stores and coffee shops. The other day a friend mentioned enjoying a Girl Scout Cookie with her wine, so we thought—why not? We decided to feature the popular Thin Mints in this month’s challenging wine pairing. Thin Mints account for 25% of all Girl Scout Cookies that are sold so there is a good chance that you have a box in your pantry, if you haven’t eaten them all yet.
As you probably know by now, my favorite reference book for pairing information is What to Drink with What You Eat by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. After looking up wines that pair well with chocolate and wines that pair well with mint, I then compared the two lists and selected two wines that appear on both lists—Cabernet Sauvignon and Moscato d’Asti. When possible, we enjoy trying very different wines in these challenges. And this time, we not only had a red wine versus a white wine but also a still wine versus a dessert. Since we were featuring inexpensive cookies rather than a gourmet entrée, we chose value-priced wines. The unanimous choice for the best pairing with the Thin Mints was the Cabernet Sauvignon. In fact, all four of us believed that the Thin Mints actually enhanced the taste of this particular Cab. On the other hand, while we love Moscato d’Asti, we found it to be too sweet with the Thin Mints.
We’d love for you to share in the comments what you would have paired with these cookies. And, as always, we welcome your suggestions for challenging wine pairings for us to try in the future.
Bon Appétit!
2010 14 Hands Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia Valley, Washington): Dark purplish red. Lots of oak, smoke, and burnt toast on the nose. Dark chocolate, smoke, black plum, black cherry, and a hint of coffee come through on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with lively acidity, medium to high tannins and a medium to long finish.
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Fred Meyer (Seattle, Washington) $10.99; Available elsewhere, $8 to $12
2010 Villa Rosa Moscato d’Asti (Moscato d’Asti DOCG, Piedmont, Italy): Pale, greenish straw yellow. Aromatic with white peach and floral notes on the nose. White peach, apricot, and a touch of honey come through on the palate. Semi-sparkling and sweet, almost syrupy. Medium-bodied with lively acidity and a long finish.
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Fred Meyer (Seattle, Washington) $11.79; Available elsewhere, $10 to $12
Filed under: American Wine, Cabernet Sauvignon, Challenging Wine Pairing, Dessert Wine, Five-Bangs For Your Buck Wines, Food & Wine, Italian Wine, Moscato/Muscat, Red Wine, Washington State Wine, White Wine, Wines Under $15, Wines Under $20, Wines Under $25
It makes sense the Cab would be the choice for the thin mints (I was actually thinking Cab before reading the results). The wine would need strong enough nuances of tanins and boldness to override the mint and compliment the chocolate. I have tasted the 14 hands Cabernet from Columbia Valley, Washington and enjoyed the full body, medium tannins and appropriate black cherry, smoke and dark chocolate.
Nice to know my CA tasting room experience is in keeping with other cork dorks.
Julie,
Glad we were thinking along the same lines. Cheers!