This Facebook Live Video Wine Tasting above, we chat about pairing wine with our favourite Chinese dishes, from sweet and sour chicken to wontons and spring rolls.
You can click on the arrow above to play the video.
We’re joined by guest winemaker, Jean-Benoit Deslauriers of Benjamin Bridge Winery to help us celebrate the Chinese New Year.
You’ll find the most recent live video wine tasting at the top of the timeline here:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/natdecants
We taste every Sunday evening at 6 pm eastern so add us to your calendar and grab a glass of wine.
Click on the icons for “Share” and “Like” on the page above to get notified when we go live.
If you’d like to read 136 comments, or make a comment yourself, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/natdecants/videos/10154411500734845/
Here’s a sampling of lively discussion from our tasting …
Jean-Benoit Deslauriers · 35:38 Lori: yes, much less pressure. a Champagne would have about 6 BAR of pressure, while Nova has only 1.5. There is just a touch of effervescence in Nova, for texture and vibrancy…
😀
:)
Whether you’re celebrating the Chinese New Year, or love Chinese fare year round, here are tips on pairing those dishes with wine.
North Americans now enjoy a much broader and diverse fare that often includes a wide range of ethnic cuisines.
The challenge?
Although there are a number of spicy entrees in Chinese cuisine, there are also many with sweet and sour nuances, so choose a wine that can handle both.
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We’re celebrating the Chinese New Year by pairing wines with sweet and sour pork, orange chicken, wontons, dumplings and spring rolls.
Join us for our Sunday Sipper Club Live Video Wine Tasting
Sunday at 6 pm eastern
We’ll also have guest winemaker, Jean-Benoit Deslauriers of Benjamin Bridge Winery. I can’t think of a better wine than his Nova 7 to pair with Chinese dishes ;)
Wontons: is a type of Chinese dumpling that is made with a dough-skin wrapper and stuffed with beef, pork or shrimp, that the edges are pressed together by fingertips and then deep-fried.
Chow Mein: stir-fried noodles, chow meaning “fried” and mein meaning “noodles.” Chow mein can be served on it’s own as a vegetarian dish or with meat such as beef, chicken or shrimp. There are two types of noodles: soft, which are flat noodles steamed, and crispy, which are long, rounded noodles that are fried.
Fried rice: steamed rice that has also been stir-fried in a wok and, often, mixed with eggs, vegetables and meat.
My favourite is off-dry Riesling from either Canada or Germany because it has a touch of sweetness, but it also has the acidity to go with the sour element in Asian cuisine.
Riesling, which can go from bone dry to intensely sweet, and often provides just the right amount of sweetness to pair with the hot/sour/salty/bitter flavours of spices.
My adage is that “sweet meets heat” and an off-dry or sweet wine can soften the perception of heat on the palate. Riesling has great acidity and ripe fruit flavors like peaches, limes and pears.
It prolongs the pleasure of the first bite of food, but then gives you a different sensation each time you sip it and go back for another bite.
A wine that’s bone dry is going to taste bitter with Chinese food. Low-alcohol white sparkling wines which have a little sweetness also work.
What to drink with kung pao or a cilantro-based dish?
Is Gewurztraminer your default wine with all spicy dishes from Chinese to Indian to Pad Thai? That makes sense as the name translates to “spice wine.”
It’s got an aromatic intensity (full of rose petals and litchi) and stands up well to a spicy meal. It is not a wimpy wine.
Choose wines that are not aged in oak and don’t have large amounts of tannins. Tannins actually accentuate heat and salt.
High-alcohol wines with spicy foods will make your mouth taste like it is on fire.
So does that mean red wines are totally out of the picture?
Of course not.
You can definitely try a wine that contrasts with spices, like a plush red that is ripe and fruity or some soft Italian reds.
For wine drinkers who prefer reds over white, try one that is not high in alcohol or tannins with spicy foods. Go with fruity low-tannin reds like Pinot Noir, Beaujolais, Gamay or even Zinfandel.
More tips on pairing wine and spicy food.
Best 20 Wines for Spicy Dishes.
My Top 10 Wine Matches for Herbs and Spices
1. Caraway and Marsanne
2. Cilantro and Riesling
3. Tarragon and Chardonnay
4. Curry Powder and Syrah
5. Rosemary and Merlot
6. Dill and Sauvignon Blanc
7. Saffron and Pinot Noir
8. Mint and Pinot Grigio
9. Coriander and Rioja
10. Anise/Fennel and Viognier
For wine pairings with 48 herbs and spices, visit www.nataliemaclean.com/matcher.
Here’s a link to all of the Benjamin Bridge wines that I’ve reviewed on the site including the Nova 7 that we discussed.
Here’s where you can joined the Benjamin Bridge Wine Club:
http://www.benjaminbridge.com/bb-club
Here are the others wines we tasted:
Batasiolo Bosc D’la Rei Moscato D’asti 2015, D.O.C.G., Piedmont, Italy: Pretty, floral and zesty Italian frizzante. Light fizz, off-dry with some clementine notes. Pair with Chinese dishes. Drink: 2015 – 2017 28175 5.5% M 750 mL $16.95 Score: 88/100. January 2017. Best Value Dessert Wine Full Review Add to Shopping Cart
Wachenheimer Riesling Auslese 1998, Pfalz, Germany: An extraordinary long-lived German Riesling. Made in the sweet style of Auslese, this is now showing caramelized aromas of flavour of burnt toffee. Lovely. Drink: 2000 – 2020 251479 11.5% S 375 mL $43.52 Score: 92/100. January 2017. Top Rated Dessert Wine Full Review Add to Shopping Cart
Cave Spring Cellars Indian Summer Late Harvest Riesling 1997, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario V.Q.A., Canada: Liquid gorgeous year after year, Cave Spring delivers this late harvest Riesling for our drinking pleasure. Apricot peach blossom. Perfect for angel food cake and fruit-based desserts. The Riesling grapes for this dessert wine are picked later in the fall, well after those from the dry style table wine. The result is much more concentrated flavours and fruit sweetness like apricot preserves. Pair this terrific wine with blue cheeses and toasted almonds. Riesling food pairings: spice cake, crème brûlée, fruit-based desserts, pastries, fresh field berries in cream. Drink: 2000 – 2017 415901 12.5% S 375 mL $24.95 Score: 91/100. January 2017. Top Rated Dessert Wine Full Review Add to Shopping Cart
Reif Estate Winery Vidal Select Late Harvest 2006, V.Q.A. Ontario, Canada: Lovely notes of overripe peach, apricot and passionfruit with terrific balancing acidity. Revel in its plush depths. Vidal Select Late Harvest food pairings: creamy cheeses, trifle, peach melba, chocolate cake. 282855 13% S 375 mL $19.95 Score: 88/100. January 2017. Best Value Dessert Wine Full Review Add to Shopping Cart
Bagatelle Muscat De Saint Jean De Minervois 2005, Languedoc, France: A floral bite like Steel Magnolias — those strong southern women ;) Apricot blossom and peach sunshine with a burnt almond back bite. Perfect for Asian fare. Drink: 2007 – 2017 29967 15.1% M 500 mL $10.95 Score: 88/100. January 2017. Best Value Dessert Wine Full Review Add to Shopping Cart
Alvear’s Pedro Ximenez De Anada 2014, Spain Drink: 2016 – 2025 16% 375 mL $20.00 January 2017. Full Review Add to Shopping Cart
Puklus Cellar Szamorodni Sweet Tokaji 2006, Tokay, Hungary: The 2006 vintage now shows teriary aromas of bottle aging such as caramelized toffee. You can find more recent vintages displaying sweeting marmalade character in stores now. Tokaji food pairings: fruit custard desserts. Drink: 2041 – 1954 179374 13.5% XD 500 mL $18.95 Score: 88/100. January 2017. Best Value Dessert Wine Full Review Add to Shopping Cart
S.A. PRÜM RIESLING SPÄTLESE is one of my favourites wines to go with spicy Chinese and Indian foods. It also goes well with strong cheeses, too.
Good choice Teddy… it’s consistently great year after year