Asian Food and Wine: Do they make a pair?
亞洲美食和葡萄酒：這樣做，使他們一對？

German Rieslings, New World Pinot Gris, Italian Pinot Grigio, Fresh Chardonnays, are some of the regular suggestions when we think of what to pair with Sashimi, Sushi, Tempura and more. Or there’s more than pairs that eye?

While wine made from grapes has been a regular staple for European cuisine for centuries, wine is curiously absent from Asia’s. The worldwide viticultural belt encompasses much of the U.S.A., central and southern Europe, most of the middle east, China and Japan; the southern belt includes only portions of Chile and Argentina, the southern tip of Africa, south Australia and New Zealand. If almost every continent is making wine, so why don’t we see wine from China, Japan, or the middle east?

Mr. Jean-Philippe Delmas, director and winemaker at Chateau Haut-Brion described Dubai as becoming a magnet for fine wine imports, while the rest of the region restricts wine for religious reasons, despite winemaking as we are led to believe originates from this area. Take for example, Shiraz from Iran, and Kosher wines in Israel.

Chinese food is traditionally associated with tea, hairy crabs with yellow or white wine, Japanese food with sake. But are these really the preferred beverages to accompany oriental cuisines? Especially when such beverages are imported and mostly available via your supermarket or restaurant. Not according to the Chinese, who had spearheaded the notion of wine for more than 2,000 years.

Their idea of what wine should be differs just a little from ours, but Western tastes and demand for premium and fine wines is slowly transforming Chinese habits, particularly in urban areas where we reside, work and enjoy. Today there are more choices of wines made available at wine retail, supermarkets, both at home and aboard.

We return to the heart of the issue of selecting wines to accompany Asian foods. As far as we know, Asian cuisines are characterized by two qualities that tend to set them apart from the cuisines of Europe and America. They can be very delicate in flavor; or simply quite spicy.

“Wine With Asian Food: New Frontiers in Taste” (Hardcover) is a newly released title which aims to address this subject promptly. Published by Landmark Books Singapore, this book is a joint collaboration by celebrated authors Patricia Guy, and Edwin Soon. With some 174 pages in color and text, we find the book accessible, easier to browse, and more organized. Topics covered included various wine experiences such as matching, flavors, texture, and styles, to 50 sumptuous recipes, as well as a brief walkthrough to the more commonly encountered appearances wine seen in our Asian culture and lifestyle, from tasting to restaurant.

Not to include spoilers, click here to read: An interview with Patricia Guy, author of Wine with Wine With Asian Food: New Frontiers in Taste.

Oh yes. Remember, the next occasion you get invited or involved with or to a dinner, consider bringing a bottle of wine that pairs well with the meal in mind, or bring this book as a gift to your host. It will make an unexpected token for your wine enthusiast friends as well.

Prices vary. To lay your hands on a copy of Wine With Asian Food: New Frontiers in Taste, check out Amazon.com or your local major bookstore, for example; Borders and/or Kinokuniya in Singapore.

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Photograph and text by Daniel. Hit us with your best shots; we’ll try our best to listen. Send your inquiries or comments here or via email to jiuwine@gmail.com.