The New York Times has taken on an issue that periodically resurfaces
he what wines pair well with spicier Asian cuisines, BBQ and sushi?
Unsurprisingly, the answer is Champagne and wines from the Loi

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/17/dining/17pour.html

[as always, {free} registration required]

Mark Lipton

When you mentioned Loire Valley, I thought about Champlou Vouvray.
Asimov mentions only reds. Anyone have thoughts about unoaked whites or
about rose for spicy food? I mentioned the unoaked Burch Hall chardonnay
in my notes about tasting in Grass Valley from a few weeks ago.
Still, I say the best wine for spicy food is beer.

In article <3fTMe.258393$x96.76769@attbi_s72>, says...
> The New York Times has taken on an issue that periodically resurfaces
> he what wines pair well with spicier Asian cuisines, BBQ and sushi?
> Unsurprisingly, the answer is Champagne and wines from the Loi
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/17/dining/17pour.html
>
> [as always, {free} registration required]
>
> Mark Lipton
>

Even less surprisingly, I say Blaufrankisch wines pair best with BBQ!
Dry Riesling with sushi, and off-dry with the spicier Asian cuisines.

e.
___________________
www.winemonger.com

On 17-Aug-2005, Steve Timko > wrote:

> When you mentioned Loire Valley, I thought about Champlou Vouvray.
> Asimov mentions only reds. Anyone have thoughts about unoaked whites or
> about rose for spicy food? I mentioned the unoaked Burch Hall chardonnay
> in my notes about tasting in Grass Valley from a few weeks ago.
> Still, I say the best wine for spicy food is beer.

Gewurz's work very well with spicy foods, as do some German and domestic
rieslings.

For BBQ, try a bottle of Cahors.

Steve Timko wrote:
> When you mentioned Loire Valley, I thought about Champlou Vouvray.
> Asimov mentions only reds. Anyone have thoughts about unoaked whites or
> about rose for spicy food? I mentioned the unoaked Burch Hall chardonnay
> in my notes about tasting in Grass Valley from a few weeks ago.
> Still, I say the best wine for spicy food is beer.

I agree. Chenin blanc is a great choice with Thai and Vietnamese
cooking, as is Grüner Veltliner, Riesling and Gewürztraminer, all of
which should be unoaked. I don't know Champlou Vouvray, but I'd take
most Savenierres over most Vouvray for standing up to spicier food.
Your last point is important, too: it's fairly rare in my experience
that wine is actually improved when paired with spicy cuisine, but
sometimes having beer is just not an option.

Mark Lipton

Mark, I'm with you on most points, but I'd disagree about preferring
Savennieres to Vouvray. If food is really spicy, I like a little
sweetness, and would prefer a sec-tendre or demi-sec Vouvray to the
usually bone-dry Savennieres.

Mike Tommasi wrote:
> DaleW wrote:
>
>> Mark, I'm with you on most points, but I'd disagree about preferring
>> Savennieres to Vouvray. If food is really spicy, I like a little
>> sweetness, and would prefer a sec-tendre or demi-sec Vouvray to the
>> usually bone-dry Savennieres.
>
>
> Dale, Mark,
>
> even though Savennieres re "dry", I still find that they have a
> richness, even a density, and a slight sucrosity that goes fantastically
> with delicately but richly spiced foods. Generally, I find the Vouvray
> more suitable to less spicy dishes, and even on their own...

Well, gentlemen, I see no way to settle this but to have a mammoth
Chenin Blanc/spicy food taste-off, venue and time TBA. We'll gather
together a few dozen Chenins (heh... and maybe a few Pineau D'Aunis as
our control group) and assemble a tasty selection of spicy Asian cuisine
(I nominate Betsy to head this dept.) and see what works best -- may be
the best Chenin win. How about it?

Mark Lipton

p.s. Dale, I normally agree 100% that off-dry to even semi-sweet works
better than bone dry, but I'm with Mike here that Savenierres is the
exception to the rule.

Mark Lipton > wrote in news:v3mNe.265432$_o.258251
@attbi_s71:



>
> Well, gentlemen, I see no way to settle this but to have a mammoth
> Chenin Blanc/spicy food taste-off, venue and time TBA. We'll gather
> together a few dozen Chenins (heh... and maybe a few Pineau D'Aunis as
> our control group) and assemble a tasty selection of spicy Asian cuisine
> (I nominate Betsy to head this dept.) and see what works best -- may be
> the best Chenin win. How about it?
>
> Mark Lipton
>
> p.s. Dale, I normally agree 100% that off-dry to even semi-sweet works
> better than bone dry, but I'm with Mike here that Savenierres is the
> exception to the rule.
>
Since I have no experience with Savennierres or Pineau d'Aunis, it is only
fitting that I be a part of the control group of tasters. This seems like a
very rough job, but then Betsy's cooking might make it worth while though
my wife and I do a mean pad thai!


--
Joseph Coulter
Cruises and Vacations
http://www.josephcoulter.com/

OK, Betsy's happy to cook- now you just get here (coordinate with Mr.
Coulter, 6 is a nice table number).

I'm a vocal fan of Savennieres as a versatile food-match. But I I still
think off-dry Vouvray (or Montlouis) is a better match than typically
bone-dry Savennieres with foods with heat (for instance things with
birdseye chiles). That's what I meant by "really spicy"

If we can't get you here, we'll have to do a virtual dinner. Someone
pick the recipes.

Dale

PS
Or we could do a tasting of Angelo Cataldo's pairings:
http://www.ezinearticles.com/?Food--...Wines&id=47976

hee hee hee.Beaujolais=cheese. Now there's a generalization!

We're going to have to make at least some contingents virtual, because
we want in! Let's make a wine list & share those recipes...

emily

"Mark Lipton" > wrote in message
news:3fTMe.258393$x96.76769@attbi_s72...
> The New York Times has taken on an issue that periodically resurfaces
> he what wines pair well with spicier Asian cuisines, BBQ and sushi?

I re-tried that experiment yet again this evening. The fresh corn on the
cob and steamed broccoli were not the problem; the terriyaki marinated
steak with extra garlic and habanero was.

The wines were both 2001 vintage:
2001 Chteau Pontet Canet
2001 Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon (not the Reserve)
Each was ~$30 US.

I tasted these right after opening them, before I lit the BBQ.

They're both good wines. Each is very much stylistically representative of
its region of origin. The Mondavi seemed sweeter and fuller to me than the
Pontet Canet, which seemed a trifle hollow. That's being really picky
though.

With food: Total disaster! Experiment quickly abandoned. Went back to
just food. Saved the wines for later.

Later: After my mouth stopped tingling, I re-tasted the wines.

The Pontet Canet is starting to open up. It's showing lead pencil (I love
Pauillac for that!), perhaps violets, fennel and a backing of firm, yet
reserved, tannins. I'd like to taste this again in 10-12 years.

The Mondavi is still the better of these two - but not by a lot - with plush
tannins, sweet fruit, licorice and cigar box intertwined. Between the two,
the Mondavi seems to be the better balanced. That could be because 2001 was
a better year here in California (Napa, specifically) than it was in
Bordeaux.

I may have to go back for a few bottles more of each of these. It'd be
interesting to re-taste them again in a decade or so.

Tom S

In article > ,
says...
>
>When you mentioned Loire Valley, I thought about Champlou Vouvray.
>Asimov mentions only reds. Anyone have thoughts about unoaked whites or
>about rose for spicy food? I mentioned the unoaked Burch Hall chardonnay
>in my notes about tasting in Grass Valley from a few weeks ago.
>Still, I say the best wine for spicy food is beer.
>
>In article <3fTMe.258393$x96.76769@attbi_s72>, says...
[SNIP]

Some years ago, Mark Miller of Coyote Cafe fame, staged a tasting of eight "
Oriental" foods, many with fairly forward spices. We paired the foods with the
usual suspects: lager, Riesling, a fruit-bomb Chard, a middle-o-the-road SB,
and a Brute Rose sparkler. The Iron Horse BR spakler was the hands down
winner, pairing with everything very, very nicely. The others hit one, or two,
but no more.

Even the lager, and Riesling filed to impress on most.

Hunt