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RayLen Vineyards near Mocksville has always shown a deft hand with red wines. Cabernet Sauvignon can be a real challenge in North Carolina but RayLen has acquitted itself with the grape.

The 2006 Cab has a bell peppery tinge to it which evoked a pizza-like pairing.

What I like about RayLen is that winemaker Steve Shepard never seems overly-serious about the art of winemaking. This simple comfort food, along with his wine, should prove satisfying.

Ingredients:

6 ounces of pizza dough

½ cup cream

½ cup blue cheese

6 fresh figs

12 thin slices of prosciutto ham

4 tablespoons chopped walnuts

½ cup arugula

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and place a pizza stone in oven.

Place pizza dough on floured surface for about 10 minutes.

Scald cream, remove from heat, and stir in blue cheese.

Roll out pizza dough to desired thickness.

Spread layer of blue cheese and cream mix on dough

Cut figs in half, wrap with ham and place on dough

Bake about 15 minutes or until desired crispiness

Remove from oven, scatter walnuts and arugula on pizza and serve.