Wine with Chinese Food

snipped-for-privacy@aol.com (Bill Spohn) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mb-m28.aol.com:

Gewurtztraminer was made for spivy food. Hint, Gewurtz means Spice in German. Pintoage is a red that can often stand up to spice too, but for my money it Gewurtztraminer every time.

Actually, it wasn't You don't find too much spicy food in Alsace. ;-)

The words 'stand up to' are the give-away. Indeed there are some wines that can weather the assault of spice better than others, but none that I have found can remain untouched and unchanged under that sort of attack.

I wouldn't subject the more expensive Gewurz (ZH, Weinbach) that I drink to that sort of insult, and I'd probably prefer not to do so with more modestGewurz as well, as my first consideration is normally enjoyment of the wine.

Well, IMHO the spicy demands for a peppery taste in the wine as well, which is hard to find in white wines.

Take some strong Rousillon and it'll have enough power to level with the spices. The lack of finess, especially in the after-taste, of those wines is in these circumstances no draw-back at all.

The Soudern France wines have improved dramatically the last 5 years, while the prices have followed only modestly.

Jürgen

Congrats! And please extend my utmost sympathies to SHMBO. ;-)

Sounds yummy, Bill. Was the duck cured or smoked, or simply stir fired with the mushrooms?

Here you raise two important points. Firstly, as Dale recently pointed out in another thread, t's important to distinguish the enormous variety of cuisines that bear the label "Chinese." As Vancouver has been on the receiving end of the Hong Kong exodus, I would expect that the quality of Chinese restaurant fare in your fair metropolis is world class. That being so, I would further expect that you have available a number of Cantonese restaurants with more than a touch of European influence and a wine list that reflects that influence. In comparable places in CA, I've found that Grüner Veltliners and the wines of Alsace are particularly good choices (though I'd be willing to give your bubbly a spin!) with the subtle seasoning of quality Cantonese cooking. Shanghai cuisine is likewise well suited to wine, and then there are the "Asian fusion" places... OTOH, the bolder flavors of the interior provinces make wine pairing a harder business (beer, anyone?). The second important point you raise is that sparkling wines are among the most food-friendly of wines, especially those of Champagne. But let's just keep that bit a secret so that prices don't go any higher than they already are... ;-)

Mark Lipton

most food-friendly of wines, especially those of Champagne.

Yup - and ironically, most champers gets drunk on its own as a celebratory drink rather than with food.

Or barbarically sprayed over the crowd by Neanderthal 'sports stars' who probably wouldn't know a bottle of decent wine if you jammed it up their ....noses.

Tonight I had Chave St. Joseph Offerus 2000 with Chinese style marinated pork strips from the local butcher. While the sweetness of the marinade really dulled any fruit in the wine, it brought forth an onslaught of black pepper and spice. An hour and a half later, I'm having trouble finding the pepper but the wine is still really tasty. Thanks to whoever reccommended this wine to me a month ago.

Ever had Grüner Veltliner?

M.

I was about to say that! Most of the better Grüners I've had have a distinct white pepper zip to them. Dale

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