I was recently sent a box of Australian wines courtesy of Wine Selectors, a wine subscription company which sells wine from over 500 Australian producers, of bronze medal standard or higher.
The pack I received was from their Australia’s First Families of Wine Favourites Mixed Collection, and this has given me the perfect opportunity to finally research and write about matching Asian food with wine.
I’m new to wine consumption, so I first hit up the product team at Wine Selectors for help; I was told the following from the pack are great across-the-board wines to pair with Asian food –
- Henschke Riesling
- De Bortoli Pinot Noir
- Yalumba Grenache
- Tyrrell’s Shiraz
Using that as my starting point, I further read up on some broad guidelines about the types of wine that work best with specific Asian cooking styles and ingredients.
I’ve collated all the information and compiled it below for your easy reference; next to each bottle of wine, I’ve made hypothetical pairings with some of my favourite Asian-style dishes, the recipes for most of which can be found on this website.
- Brown Brothers Limited Release Tempranillo Graciano 2016
Smooth and silken, flavour-laden and spicy with layers of black, blue, red and purple fruits, spicy, lively acidity and fine tannin persistence.
Pairing suggestions: Vietnamese Grilled Beef Rolls, Khmer Beef Lok Lak - Campbells Limited Release Durif 2015
Dense, dark and full-bodied with a brooding mix of currant, prune and anise characters along with a beautifully balanced texture and mouth-feel.
Pairing suggestions: Thai Crying Tiger, Lao Grilled Ox Tongue - d’Arenberg The Derelict Vineyard Grenache 2013
Mouth-filling, silken richness with a deep, chocolatey core, velvety flavours and great structure. It shows Rhône-like power and although dense, retains elegance and delicacy.
Pairing suggestions: Peking Duck, Crispy Shredded Beef - The Barry Bros by Jim Barry Shiraz Cabernet 2016
Powerful yet with a degree of elegance, it has a strong mix of black fruits, fine touches of spice and crushed leaf, fine tannin depth and drive and plum pudding-like persistence.
Pairing suggestions: Malaysian Chicken Curry, Malaysian Lamb Curry - Mc. W Reserve 660 Tumbarumba Chardonnay 2017
Beautifully textured, savoury and layered with a refined yet intense core of fruit, zesty acidity and perfectly-judged oak in support.
Pairing suggestions: Indonesian Ayam Bakar (Grilled Chicken), Ayam Goreng (Fried Chicken) - Tahbilk Museum Release Marsanne 2011
Waxy-soft with sublime, mouth-filling flavour and beautiful umami.
Pairing suggestions: Butter Prawns, Poached Prawn & Chicken Dumplings (Sui Gow) - De Bortoli Villages Pinot Noir 2017
Quite deep and textural with earth and truffle complexity and light vanillin oak. Displays distinct Pinot character and charm with the potential for further development.
Pairing suggestions: Beef Rendang, Satay, Steamed Glutinous Rice with Chicken and Mushrooms - Henschke Peggy’s Hill Riesling 2016
Richly flavoured showing quince, grapefruit and subtle honey flavours, crisp, minerally acidity and a generous finish.
Pairing suggestions: Thai Grilled Cuttlefish, Malaysian Otak-Otak (Spicy Grilled Fishcakes) - Howard Park Miamup Sauvignon Blanc 2017
Unmistakeably varietal with very strong herbaceous notes adding to the rich core of fruits balanced by minerally acidity and finishing with lingering tropical fruit persistence.
Pairing suggestions: Ayam Percik (Malay Grilled Chicken), Chinese Steamed Fish - Taylors TWP Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
Full-bodied and youthful with a rich and super-ripe sweet core of black fruit, lovely texture and silken tannin depth. Secondary development is starting to appear as cassis, leather and tobacco.
Pairing suggestion: Pressure-cooked Roast Lamb Shoulder - Tyrell’s Hunter Valley Shiraz 2016
A solid core of red and black fruit characters along with loads of white and black pepper, complemented by touches of cocoa and bay leaf, medium density tannins and well-judged oak.
Pairing suggestions: Malaysian Lamb Curry, Chicken Rendang - Yalumba Old Bush Vine Grenache 2016
Deliciously round and jubey with high octane richness providing loads of velvety softness and persistence.
Pairing suggestions: Kung Pao Chicken, Spicy Mutton Curry
Over the next several weeks, I will be featuring some of these dishes and wines in my Twitch Live Asian Kitchen, so if you’ve always been interested in the topic of wine pairing, tune on Twitch at www.JackieM.Live; my current schedule is as follows (Sydney time; GMT+10) –
- Monday – 12pm
- Wednesday – 2pm
- Friday – 6pm
Make sure you click on Follow at www.JackieM.Live and have the Notifications tab turned ON if you want to be notified when I’m livestreaming, so you can watch and interact with me live during the broadcasts.
To find out more about the Australia’s First Families of Wine Favourites Mixed Collection featured in this post, visit https://www.wineselectors.com.au/product/australia-s-first-families-of-wines-favourites-mixed-collection/184001
(The pack was sent by Wine Selectors in exchange for my review, so if you have any wine-matching suggestions to add, let me know and I’ll amend this post to reflect your input.)
