I completely agree with Christian Seely’s comments regarding food-wine matching (“if there’s something in the dish that can wake up something in the wine… that, for me, is what food and wine matching is all about”). Pierre Montégut remarks on the success of subtly complex spicy dishes bringing out the fruit in Sauternes.

I love Szechuan cuisine, so I thought it worth combining some stirfry and a comparative tasting of Château Guiraud 2007 and Château Suduiraut 2007.

Stirfry pork with carrot, Chinese cabbage (sui choy), ginger and lemongrass

Stirfry Szechuan-style chicken with bell pepper/capsicum

Château Guiraud 2007 was darker in colour, had a more complex nose showing caramel, underripe nectarine(?), quince, a touch of canned pineapple, nut shell and honey. The palate is pleasantly light, with the fruit showing (particularly with the pork dish) on a long finish. This was a better balanced, more aromatically complex, longer wine than the Suduiraut (and I say that being a Suduiraut fan).

Château Suduiraut 2007 had significantly less aromatic/flavour intensity, was fatter, heavier, and I would say of inferior balance – but some may prefer their Sauternes that way. It had flavours of rather floral honey and apricot syrup. Perhaps slightly underperforming for the producer I thought (which may well be an issue of bottle provenance).

The combination with stirfry was excellent, with the viscous texture of Sauternes working well with the oil in the stirfry, and the aromatic spices bringing out different characters in the wine.

Dessert comprised a vanilla crème brûlée, a classic accompaniment to Sauternes. I felt the wines were too acidic for the crème, and it did not bring out interesting flavours in the wine like the stirfry had.

So, next time you reach for a Sauternes, consider drinking it with an Asian main rather than with/as a dessert!

Pheasant and Quail Terrine, beetroot salad, raisin purée

Terrine: pheasant leg and breast, quail breast, chicken livers, prosciutto, seasoning, white wine.
Beetroot salad: grated fresh beetroot, dressing of red wine vinegar, lime juice, soy sauce and honey.
Raisin purée: plumped and puréed, plus verjus.

Paried fairly well with a very youthful, lemony and (unfortunately) only slightly toasty Roederer Brut 2005.

Scallop, baked pumpkin, fried chicken gyoza, green curry foam

Scallop, baked pumpkin, fried chicken gyoza, green curry foam (not shown)

Scallop: seared.
Pumpkin: baked in Sherry, garlic and ginger.
Gyoza: minced chicken, spring onion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce; poached then fried.
Foam (not shown): essentially a Thai green curry sauce that’s heavy on the aromatics (i.e., coconut milk flavoured with shrimp paste, fish sauce, lemon grass, garlic, ginger, galangal and kaffir lime).

I was pleased with this dish concept, and it proved one of the most popular dishes of the day. The flavours are classically complimentary and the dish offers a variety of textures. The gyoza needs to have the sufficient crunch (not executed to perfection here), and it seems lecithin may be foam-challenged when it comes to coconut milk, but otherwise successfully executed.

Condrieu, Burgundy

Prosciutto Mushroom, dill green beans, Bordelaise sauce

Proscuitto mushroom, dill green beans, Bordelaise sauce

Mushroom: slow baked with butter, garlic, thyme and white wine; formed into a cylinder wrapped in prosciutto.
Beans: fresh garden greens, poached and tossed in melted dill butter. (I recommend pairing dill and green beans.)
Bordelaise sauce: veal stock, red wine, shallot, marrow.

Domaine des Croix Beaune 1er Cru Bressandes 2006
Savoury cherry, almond, cherry wood and a little compost on the nose. Not a spectacular nose, but subtle and savoury. Well balanced, with pleasantly soft sandy tannins. Whole and gently expressive even if not impressive. Being neither fruit forward nor funky, and savoury in nature, this actually complimented the dish surprisingly better than many other Pinots might have.

Lamb Medallion, eggplant/aubergine purée, peas, mint, rosemary jus

Lamb Medallion, eggplant/aubergine purée, peas, mint, rosemary jus

Essentially a simplified version of this dish (or this dish). Execution suffered a little here. It’s important to have flavoursome eggplant/aubergine.

Tasmanian ‘Brie’, croutons, poached nectarine

Tasmanian 'Brie', croutons, poached nectarine

MSR Auslese Riesling

Persian pavlova, saffron meringue, cardamom cream, rose water strawberries, pistachios, rose petals

The saffron didn’t work here (though it’s possible the quality of the saffron was to blame), but otherwise a suitably delicate, light, summery dessert.

I tried the same wine with Ma Poh Doufu, one of my favourite Szechuan dishes. I tend to make the dish without too much chilli (ginger and chilli wok-ed in oil before adding spring onions and pork mince; then some red bean sauce and chicken stock, and finally the silken tofu and toasted Szechuan peppercorns), and serve it with wheat noodles.

I was really quite surprised at how fantastic this combination was! To my taste, it was amongst some of the better food-wine matches I’ve ever had. There’s something about the salivation that Szechuan peppercorns induce (it must be due to the hydroxy-alpha-sanshool) that seems to work well with a juicy-fresh mineral non-grape wine.

Following that, I tried some of my Rhubarb wines with Szechuan chicken (generally: red bell pepper/capsicum, chicken, leek, garlic, ginger, black beans, soy sauce, rice wine, plenty of Szechuan peppercorns) and this was a great match too.

Forget Gewurtz, Riesling or whatever…. fruit wines are the way to go with spicy Asian cuisine!

The Gooseberry is made from a purple variety called Worcesterberry and I tend to make it pretty funky/earthy, with a touch of residual sugar but good acidity. The Rhubarbs tend to be dry, mineral, light-medium bodied whites.

Ma Poh Doufu with Passionvale Gooseberry 2006

Szechuan chicken with Passionvale Mayfield Rhubarb 'The Vegetal' 2007

Choy and pork dumplings