Grape Press: Flavorworks

“Grape Press” is a regular magazine column in which we recommend wines to suit various occasions and price points.

Food-and-wine matching may be in its infancy in mainland China, but represents a lot of festive fun for the New Year. The typical “Western habit” of matching individual wines with individual dishes only makes sense at a Chinese dinner table if you are following a course-by-course approach (Hong Kong banquet-style).

Some sommeliers roll their eyes when asked to match wines with a bulging lazy susan of myriad dishes. We, however, think this actually presents an opportunity rather than an insurmountable challenge.

There is great pleasure to be had from opening a range of bottles to match your favorite New Year fare. But rather than recommend wines specifically for dumplings or for meicai kourou (fatty pork with preserved vegetables), this month we’re looking at wines that can stay the course of an entire meal.

These are the crowd-pleasers that seem to go pretty well with just about anything, from sparkling Moscato to Merlot. Typically, it’s best to avoid reds that are high in tannin and wines of very high alcohol. Unless of course you want to emphasize bitterness or chilli heat!

ONE TO QUAFF
2011 Brown Brothers Moscato, Victoria, Australia (RMB 128)
(ASC Wines, RMB 128)
Available at Wine Gallery
A lightly sparkling, super-fragrant Moscato: pale lemon color with delicate bubbles, perfumed grapelike aromas and a sweet palate buoyed by lowish acidity. Goes with lighter New Year dishes and its low alcohol makes for banquet-long appreciation!

ONE TO DRINK
2007 Marques de Casa Concha Merlot, Maipo Valley, Chile (RMB 255)
(Pudao Wines, RMB 255)
Available at Hatsune, My Humble House
Richer in alcohol and body here. But this deep ruby wine with ripe plum Merlot fruit, stylish oak and a concentrated palate (with not too much tannin) makes for an attractive partner for richer stewed dishes.

ONE TO SAVOR
2010 Ferrari-Carano Fumé Blanc, Sonoma, California (RMB 317)
(EMW Wines, RMB 317)
Available at F by Tribute, EAST Beijing
An oaked style of Sauvignon Blanc with moderate acidity, medium gold color with peach fruit and subtle new oak vanilla and toast. Mediumbodied with good concentration. A real all-rounder!

Edward Ragg is co-founder, with Fongyee Walker, of Dragon Phoenix Wine Consulting, China’s leading independent wine consultancy and education service (www.longfengwines.com). They write for the world’s wine magazines and several publications in China.