Comments on: Alder Yarrow of Vinography: Wine and Chinese food pairings as a ‘scam’, four overdone wine topics, and more http://www.grapewallofchina.com/2009/04/17/alder-yarrow-of-vinography-wine-and-chinese-food-pairings-as-a-scam-four-overdone-wine-topics-and-more/ A China Wine Blog: The Scene in the World's Largest Market Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:01:18 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Garry http://www.grapewallofchina.com/2009/04/17/alder-yarrow-of-vinography-wine-and-chinese-food-pairings-as-a-scam-four-overdone-wine-topics-and-more/comment-page-1/#comment-8962 Garry Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:22:54 +0000 http://www.grapewallofchina.com/?p=1285#comment-8962 Good article. Yes ‘Chinese cuisine’ (whatever that is) comes under fire for its difficulty to pair with wines because of the ‘sharing of dishes’ style. But most dining styles will face some difficulties to some degree. Take a traditional American restaurant situation. Party is seated, offered drinks, wine menu handed to a member of the party who then chooses a bottle of wine, most of the time, before the other parties select their individual meals. It is too much to expect for one bottle of wine to pair successfully with everybody’s (different) meals at the table. The only way to attempt to successfully pair all meals with wine, is for all guests to order separate wines (by the glass?), if you are lucky enough to be in a restaurants that has a multiple range of wines available by the glass. Unlikely situation? Also agree that Chinese cuisine is so diverse that we should be wary of statements like ‘this wine is great with Chinese style cuisine’ (are any Gong Bao Chicken recipes the same in Beijing restaurants?), or alternatively, ‘wine does not suit Chinese cuisine’. Often this last statement is made by sommeliers that have a European wine/cuisine background, who are more comfortable working with more subtle flavours. There are an array of more robust flavoured wines that suit stronger/spicier cuisine styles. Lastly, from my experience, everybody has different tastes, influences, and abilities to perceive aspects in foods and wines. So even if one person loves a particular food - wine pairing, your spouse may think your tastes in cuisine is rubbish. But when you do find that fantastic match of the right wine with a particular dish, you’ll remember it for a long time. Good article. Yes ‘Chinese cuisine’ (whatever that is) comes under fire for its difficulty to pair with wines because of the ‘sharing of dishes’ style. But most dining styles will face some difficulties to some degree. Take a traditional American restaurant situation. Party is seated, offered drinks, wine menu handed to a member of the party who then chooses a bottle of wine, most of the time, before the other parties select their individual meals. It is too much to expect for one bottle of wine to pair successfully with everybody’s (different) meals at the table. The only way to attempt to successfully pair all meals with wine, is for all guests to order separate wines (by the glass?), if you are lucky enough to be in a restaurants that has a multiple range of wines available by the glass. Unlikely situation?

Also agree that Chinese cuisine is so diverse that we should be wary of statements like ‘this wine is great with Chinese style cuisine’ (are any Gong Bao Chicken recipes the same in Beijing restaurants?), or alternatively, ‘wine does not suit Chinese cuisine’. Often this last statement is made by sommeliers that have a European wine/cuisine background, who are more comfortable working with more subtle flavours. There are an array of more robust flavoured wines that suit stronger/spicier cuisine styles.

Lastly, from my experience, everybody has different tastes, influences, and abilities to perceive aspects in foods and wines. So even if one person loves a particular food – wine pairing, your spouse may think your tastes in cuisine is rubbish.

But when you do find that fantastic match of the right wine with a particular dish, you’ll remember it for a long time.

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