- Guide for storing wine
- Toast to Easter Day
- Tips for Drinking Wines on Dates
- Drinking Dos and Don'ts
- Christmas Dinner Party
- Thanksgiving
- Mid-Autumn Festival
- FOOD.I.Y Heritage Cook-off
- Olympic Games
- Holiday Wines
- Father's Day
- Mother's Day
- Easter Food Pairing
- Penfolds Pairing
- Valentine's Day
- CNY Pairing
Chinese New Year is nearly here and it's time to welcome, wealth and prosperity. It's time to reunite with our families and share a grand meal together. It's time to celebrate! I think we have all heard that generally speaking Chinese food especially dishes with lots of garlic, chilli and ginger can make a tricky wine and food pairing. But there are a few guidelines that can be followed to help ensure the wine is enjoyed with the meal and not over powered by strong flavours in a dish.
Fish dishes which have delicate flavours, need a lightly oaked, low acidic wine. The fresh flavours of the fish will marry well with either a soft, fruit intensive Pinot Noir or a New World Chardonnay with just a hint of oak and acid. I would suggest the Rosemount Diamond Label Semillon Chardonnay.
Cantonese style dishes such as roasted meats work amazingly well with a juicy fruit driven Australian Shiraz from Wynns Coonawara Estate.
Sichuan dishes with their hot, spicy and salty flavours need a slightly sweet low alcoholic wine. The Wolf Blass Red Label Moscato with its effervescent spritz of sweet fruit flavours is perfect.
And one last point which will definitely help with your enjoyment of that glass of wine not only over Chinese New Year but at any time is to try having some bread throughout your meal. The chewing of something plain and absorbent between sips of wine and your next bite of chilli crab or alike helps to neutralise the effects of acid and strong flavours from the food. This helps to clean your palate, ensuring your next sip of wine is just as enjoyable as the last. Happy drinking!
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