Page 26 - Sphere No.22 (Aug 2008)

FINE WINE AND ASIAN FOOD
T HE MAJOR barrier to pairing western
wine withAsian food is not, as tends to be
thought, the powerful spiciness of some
regional cuisines, but the fact that Asian meals tend
to consist of multiple, shared dishes served more
or less simultaneously. However, the problem of
finding a suitable match is not insoluble with a suf-
ficiently versatile wine.
White wines which complement Asian cuisines
include Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc
and Viognier, go particularly well with the deli-
cate flavours of Cantonese food. The spiciness of
Gewurztraminer makes it a good partner for Thai
or Sichuan dishes. Champagne is reckoned by many
food and wine connoisseurs to be a perfect match
for sushi and sashimi.
If a dish is delicately flavoured – abalone being a
good example – it is important to avoid over chill-
ing the wine, which tends to diminish appreciation
of subtle taste sensa-
tions, and in the case
of good whites also
conceal their finer
points.If,on the other
hand, a dish is fiercely
spicy with a lot of
chilli, a simple well-
chilled white can be
the best option.There is no point in wasting a subtle
wine on a strongly assertive dish or vice versa.
If choosing a red wine, it is best to avoid those
with strong tannins which can be made unpleasant-
ly bitter by soy sauce and salty flavours. New world
Pinot Noirs are often a good match for a variety
of different dishes, as are French wines from the
Côtes du Rhône. Pinot Noir is a particularly good
match for duck, while red Bordeaux or Barolo can
go well with beef dishes.
If your taste is for heavier red wines it is impor-
tant to make sure that the dishes on the table have
a similar weight to them. It might be sensible to
save your best Bordeaux and Burgundy for an oc-
casion when you are eating western cuisine.
24 SPHERE
– rather than purely on price or recognition of a famous la-
bel, as was so often the case in the past. Others who may not
know as much are nevertheless keen to learn – especially now
the health benefits of drinking wine, particularly red, are well
known – and are asking more searching questions of the staff
who serve them.
That’s all good news according to James Hepple, Watson’s
Wine Cellar’s Operations &Marketing Controller, who says that
thanks to high-level staff training programmes the company’s
front-line personnel are more than ready with their answers.
“Since early 2004 we have been putting the majority of our
staff through Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) cours-
es,” explains Mr Hepple. “Before that we definitely did wine
training, but it was more ad hoc.”
The initiative coincided with the repositioning of Watson’s
Wine Cellar as a fine wines retailer, clearly differentiated with-
in the group from PARKnSHOP as offering a premium, rather
than a primarily cost competitive, product. Previously, there
had been an overlap in the market positioning of the stores.
“It works really well,” says Mr Hepple. “If you have staff
who are knowledgeable about wine it positively af-
fects your sales, but it benefits the customer as
well because they get better service and bet-
ter guidance on the wine they choose. It
also aids with staff development, so ev-
eryone wins.”
In his opinion a higher level of
wine knowledge is essential
for staff who inter-
act with cus-
tomers on a regu-
lar basis. “They need to
know at least as much as, if not
more than, our most sophisticated custom-
ers, otherwise we lose credibility,” he says.
British based WSET is an institution originally estab-
lished to raise professional standards in the wine industry. Its
courses are taught internationally by Approved Programme
Providers of whom nine, including Mr Tam’s International
Wine Centre, offer the service in Hong Kong. Examinations
are marked in London.
WSET is not the only educational and examining body
offering wine education to the trade, and certainly not the
cheapest, but is generally regarded as the best.
Mr Hepple has no doubt at all on that score. “Other options
were considered, weighed and found wanting,” he says. “The
management team here has worked overseas and is in touch