The perfect East-meets-West match

One of the fundamental principles of food and wine pairing is to go for a regional combination, meaning that culinary delicacies from any given place are usually and quite logically harmoniously coupled with wines from the same region of origin. Clearly, this is in line with the idea of terroir as a whole: territories all have distinct physical and human characteristics that come to define their identity along history. 

 

History and local affinities do play an important role, but regional pairing can also serve as a guide to better understanding the congruence and complementarity of flavors and aromas. This is all the more useful for gastronomic regions of the world that are either completely devoid of, or rather new, to winemaking traditions. 

 

As a general rule, some level of acidity will help complement fat or sweet, just like alcohol will make up for fat and the “bitterness” of tannins for sweetness. That’s all fine in principle, but how does this really work in practice, especially when two seemingly radically foreign arts de la table meet?

 

In late June I was introduced to a remarkable experience of pairing: Cantonese cuisine with Tuscany wines, most of them derived from Sangiovese, as it is produced in the area of Montalcino. Together with Giulia Vittori, a family member of the Vittori family that owns Molino di Sant’Antimo and Alberto Passeri, the winemaker of La Gerla Di Sergio Rossi, we tasted seven wines produced by these two boutique domains from Tuscany that were revived in the early 1980s and only came to prominence in the mid-2000s. 

 

Our host, Ada Leung, first made it clear that Cantonese cuisine is characterized by the freshness of its ingredients (shrimps are still jumping right before being cooked), the simplicity of its sauces (salt, dark and light soy sauces, oil, oyster sauce, sesame oil, peanut oil, sugar, black pepper, white pepper, a bit of corn starch, and possibly yellow or white cooking wine), the presence of vegetables together with meat or fish and seafood, and the savories of condiments contrasted by the innate “sweetness” of the ingredients themselves. 

 

As a general rule, “What you like in the wine must stay”, “What you like in the food must stay” and the pairing should “enhance” both the food and the wine—“the total being more than the sum of its parts.”

 

Simply put, when it comes to Cantonese gastronomy, wines should be “soy sauce loving”.  Made from fermented soy means soy sauce is high in acidity, and high in umami, so wines need to be high in acidity and have firm mineral structures in order not to be overwhelmed. The wines should also be vegetable and “green” loving, and should help bring out the “freshness” as well as the intrinsic “sweetness” of the ingredients.

 

The Molino Toscana Chardonnay was thus a great match for the signature steamed shrimp dumplings (筍尖蝦餃) and scallop with vegetable dumplings (帶子菜苗餃), especially because of its warmer interpretation of Chardonnay – yet carrying a lot of minerality and freshness. 

 

The Molino Rosso di Montalcino went well with both the steamed beef balls with bean curd sheet (山竹牛肉球) and deep-fried spring rolls with taro and vermicelli (荔芋銀絲春卷), thanks to its elegant acidity, earthiness and the red-fruitiness of its Sangiovese interpretation. 

 

The Molino’s Morellino di Scansano did enhance the wok-fried string bean with preserved olive (欖菜干煸四季豆) because of its black fruit characteristics, whereas La Gerla’s Poggio gli Angeli with its floral depiction of the Sangiovese could easily take the sweetness and acidity of the sweet and sour pork with pickled ginger and pineapple (菠蘿子薑咕嚕肉). 

 

La Gerla’s Brunello di Montalcino, thanks to its fine and lighter tannins as well as earthly and “meaty” character, combined beautifully with the stewed wagyu short ribs with onions, Peking scallions and spring onions. 

 

And the classic wok-fried rice noodles with sliced beef in X.O chili sauce recognized the Molino’s Romito di Vittori and its warmer blackberry fruit interpretation of Cabernet Sauvignon, together with the perky acidity and finesse of the Sangiovese has a close parent, if not a cousin, of sort.

 

And as we were the only table carrying wine, and not tea, to accompany our gastronomic yum cha, we no doubt attracted some attention – and for the best reasons in the world!

 

 

 

 

 

Chardonnay is not a native grape of Tuscany, but because of its early harvesting in August 

in the hills of the estate, it manages to acquire a distinctive “Chardonnay-like” identity. 

Fine straw colour with warm golden highlights in the glass, traces of dried fruits and hazelnut, 

with a touch of butter and a hint of minerals in the bouquet. It develops slowly and finishes 

with traces of smoke and toasted bread, as well as white-fleshed fruits. Structure is almost fatty, 

and the alcohol content is balanced with an acid freshness. 

 

 

 

 

Brilliant ruby red with nuances of garnet. An intense, ample and complex bouquet 

where tobacco, earthy minerality, red brick dust, touches of toasty coffee, leather 

and hints of game and roasted meat move to plums, black cherries, red currants 

and raspberries as the wine opens up. At first impact on the palate, the wine is intense 

and decisive and gradually softens with dense, young, lively tannins. Structured, 

powerful and rich. The finish is both mineral and earthy with balsamic notes and a 

good persistence, finishing with notes licorice. A Rosso which drinks like a Brunello.

 

 

 

 

Brilliant clear garnet colour with purple tinges. Nose of blackberries, plums 

and violets followed by blueberry and raspberry with balsamic spice notes. 

On the palate, black cherries and plums open into a round and steady mineral finish.

 

 

 

 

A Brunello with slightly less ageing. Intense ruby red robe. A bouquet of delicate, 

fruity, fragrance notes of cherry and wild berries. Harmonious, velvet rich and fruity in the mouth.

 

 

 

 

Intense ruby verging on garnet. Dry, warm, harmonious, velvety, steady in body and heart. 

The perfume is ethereal, melting into scents of sweet violet and iris, recalling forest berries. 

Brunello di Montalcino at its best.

 

 

 

 

Ruby red, slight garnet with shades of purple. A sweet attack of black currant 

and ripe cherry fruit, with a touch of tobacco and licorice root, and violet aromas. 

The palate begins with slight vegetative accents, with notes of toasty almond.  

The mouth, though rich and velvety, ends with good, fresh acidity.

 

 

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The lunch took place at Island Tang in Hong Kong and the wines can be ordered

and delivered to Macau from Ada Leung, Cottage Vineyards – [email protected]