Difficult to combine Wine with Asian food? Hmm, maybe a little.  

Asian cuisine is diverse in flavors. There’s a lot from something sour, such as Tom Yum soup, to sweet, sticky rice with mango, or steak with a honey-soy dressing; naturally spicy like black pepper crab, or round and ‘creamy’ like chicken tikka masala. Wine pairing with such multicultural food naturally seems difficult.  

So… which wine belongs exactly to which dish? Besides the fact that this is a matter of personal taste, some flavors come out better with good wine pairing. In other words, the wine is better served with the right piece of meat.   

There is not one distinct wine that goes best with Asian food. So, taste (of course) plays an essential role – the taste of the dish and the taste of the wine. With a spicy dish, it is better to choose a sweet and sour wine, while a mild dry wine goes better with a sweet and sour meal.  

 1. Twin Oaks – Cabernet Sauvignon 

Often mentioned in the same breath with the Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon is a very dark-colored red wine. Like Merlot, the grapes have many similarities and are produced in the same region, namely the Bordeaux. Typical of this wine is that there is always a hint of black currants in it. Furthermore, this wine can often be called a bit spicy. Due to this reason, Cabernet Sauvignon tastes best with:  

• Spicy dishes  
• Sausages with a strong flavor  
• Cheddar  
• Meat from the grill  

Dishes to try with Cabernet Sauvignon- char-grilled beef, deep-fried fish cakes, chicken tikka, and sambal tiger prawns.  

2. La Joya Merlot Reserva – Merlot 

1. The Merlot grape is, together with the Cabernet Sauvignon, one of the most famous grapes of the French Bordeaux region. It is a large blue grape with thin skin. Besides France, California is a major producer of Merlot.  Being one of the common wines, Merlot is also called a ‘smooth’ wine, which is easy to drink.   This wine is especially suitable for many meat dishes, such as:  
   • Chicken  
   • Roast beef  
   • Lamb  
   • Red meat  
   • Beef stew  

   Dishes to try with Merlot: Pla yang, lamb rogan josh, beef rendang, deep-fried crab meat, and mixed tandoori grill.  

   3. Louis Latour Ardèche – Chardonnay

     

2. The grapes from which Chardonnay wine is made are popular as the best in the world. Chardonnay, therefore, has a certain status. The wine is versatile and can be paired with many different dishes. This grape is resistant to both heat and cold. Chardonnay is often used as a base for sparkling wine (with bubbles).  The wine tastes amazing with dishes such as:  
   • Ham  
   • Chicken  
   • Pasta  

   For Chardonnay food pairing, you can try Vietnamese classic stir-fried chicken with ginger, butter chicken, tom kha, and assorted satay skewers.  

   4. Baron Philippe De Rothchild – Pinot Noir  

Pinot Noir is a light red-colored wine. The wine is made from a dark blue grape, which is mainly found in French Burgundy. Outside this region, growing the Pinot Noir is not always easy. Nevertheless, this grape has been increasingly planted in northern Italy, Switzerland and Germany in recent years. The Pinot Noir is easy to drink; it is very soft and smooth.  

This wine is delicious with the following dishes:  

• Chicken  
• Lamb  

• Roast beef  

For Pinot Noir food pairing, you can try beef madras, lamb seekh kebab, lamb chops, and char-grilled chicken.  

5. DR Loosen – Riesling  

Riesling is made from white, sweet and sour grapes. The grape comes from Germany and is also called the Queen of grapes there. A lot of countries are planting the Riesling grape. It can already be found in Austria, Luxembourg, United States, Hungary, Northern Italy, and Australia. A light citrus undertone can recognize a good Riesling wine.  

Wine made from the Riesling is perfect with the following dishes:  

• Mild tasting cheeses  

• chicken tandoori  
• Pork  
• Shrimps  
• Lobster  
• Mussels  

Try these Riesling food pairing: whole spring tandoori chicken, pad thai, chicken wings, char-grilled pork, and Singaporean-style mussels.  

6. Gunn Estate Sauvignon Blanc – Sauvignon Blanc 

Sauvignon Blanc is a fresh, elegant and fruity wine. As per its name, this wine comes from France. The Bordeaux and Loire region, in particular, focuses on this wine. Good Sauvignon Blanc also comes from Northern Italy. Sauvignon Blanc has also been produced in New Zealand for years. The wines from New Zealand are juicier and fruitier in taste, while the French and Italian wines are relatively fresh.  

This wine is very tasty with dishes such as:  

• Oysters  
• Salmon  
• Seafood  
• Other strong-tasting cheeses  

Food pairing with Sauvignon Blanc: Chicken tikka, butter chicken, Thai-style omelet with oyster, steamed fish with lime and chili sauce, and tiger prawns.  

Ordering something else?  

In order to make it easy, you can always limit your choice to white wines. Most dishes from Asian cuisine can be easily combined with white wines.    

There is always a white wine that goes well with Asian dishes. The trick is to be able to indicate the taste of the dish, the taste of the wine and then weld it together.   

A dish with soft, subtle flavors calls for a soft, subtle wine. For example, noodles with prawns combine perfectly with a delicious glass of wine from the Sylvaner grape from Alsace. 

Here’s a chart to help you with perfect food and wine pairing: 

Choose according to Your Taste 

Which wine you actually pair with a dish, that of course, always depends on your personal taste and preference. You can use the given table for your wine and food pairing, but if you have a different taste or prefer some different combination, share with us in the comments below! 

The post Asian Food and Wine Pairing: Which Wine Goes Best With Which Dish? appeared first on Mint & Basil.