7:00am Saturday 2nd August 2008
FANCY a drink? Lucy Corry raises her glass to the week's best buys.
A VICTORY TOAST?
MATCHING wine with Chinese food is nearly as tough as becoming an Olympic champion or crossing the road in Beijing.
Working out what to drink with hoisin chicken or Shanghai noodles - whether you've cooked it yourself or are waiting for the delivery man - takes just as much dedication as training for track and field or ploughing up and down the pool.
The dominant flavours of Chinese cuisine - chilli, ginger, garlic, soy and oyster sauces - can wreak havoc with wine. Finding something that doesn't clash with sweet and sour sauce or other pungent flavours is really tricky.
Like any athlete, I sought the advice of an expert - wine consultant Debbie Yeung, who works for legendary wine merchants Berry Bros. & Rudd in Hong Kong.
Debbie was understanding when I wanted to throw in the towel and settle for jasmine tea but promised me that there were much more exciting options.
"The dominant taste (in Chinese food) is sweet although salty comes at a close second," she explains.
"Therefore, the perfect match would be a sweet, spicy, fruity white wine. If not, a low tannin red wine is also possible, especially for dishes like duck."
Her personal favourite red wine match for Chinese food is pinot noir.
"The characteristics of a nice pinot - red berries like cherry, raspberry and strawberry fruit flavours and aromas will enhance but not overpower Chinese flavours like oyster sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil," she says.
Debbie's choice is the luxurious Alana Estate Pinot Noir from Martinborough, New Zealand (£17.95 a bottle or £16.15 a bottle if you buy 12 at Berrys - www.bbr.com). For a more wallet-friendly option, try Casablanca Pinot Noir 2007 (£5.49 at Marks & Spencer).
Heavier dishes such as Peking Duck suit red burgundy or lighter merlot. Debbie picks Berrys' Extra Ordinary Red Burgundy (£12.95 or £11.65 a bottle if you buy 12 at Berrys - www.bbr.com).
Wines from Alsace have long been associated with Chinese food. Trimbach Gewurztraminer 2005 (£12.89 at www.thedrinkshop.com) is a great example - aromatic and luscious without being too sweet. For a cheaper but equally tasty choice, try the very hip Austrian Singing Gruner Veltliner 2006 (£6.99, Tesco).
A recent tasting of muscats from the French Languedoc region also turned up several worthy options. Try Vignerons de la Mediterranee Muscat de St Jean de Minervois (£3.99, Sainsburys) or Domaine de Montahuc Muscat de St Jean de Minervois (£9.49 at Oddbins). They both make great aperitifs while you're waiting for that takeaway.
Alternatively, chef Ian Pengelley, who has worked in restaurants across Asia and now runs the celebrated Gilgamesh in London, reckons sherry is a winning match for Chinese food.
"I've always used sherry because the Chinese make a lot of sherry-style wines that I use to partner with my dishes," he says.
"The Shaoxing rice wines are not dissimilar to dry sherries, with their bready, yeasty tang the perfect way to get the palate ready for food. At the other end of the scale, sweeter styles of sherry are a great complement to sweet and sour dishes."
Try good old Harvey's Bristol Cream (£5.49, available at supermarkets nationwide) with your next Oriental feast.
If all else fails, Debbie suggests trying a good rose, dry sparkling wine or champagne. To me, that kind of advice is medal-worthy in itself.
DRINK THIS: Riesling (that's rees-ling, not rye-sling, as the girl in my local pronounces it) is gorgeous with Asian food. Pick of the bunch in my fridge is Grove Mill 2007 Riesling, £8.89 at Thresher. This intensely aromatic wine will silence anyone who thinks New Zealand only produces sauvignon blanc. There's no need to fret about it coming from so far away - Grove Mill is the world's first carbon-zero winery.
LIQUID NEWS
Harbin, in China's north-eastern Heilongjiang province, was the starting place for this year's contentious Olympic torch relay. Less controversially, it's also home to Harbin beer - the official beer sponsor of the 2008 Games.
It's unlikely that the Olympic athletes themselves will be slaking their thirst with the sponsor's product in Beijing - at least not before they've competed - but you can get a taste of the action by opening a bottle or two of this medium-bodied lager, brewed with Chinese and European hops.
You'll find Harbin in Chinese restaurants throughout the UK or sprint down to the supermarket - Tesco sells 330ml bottles for £1.19 each or 600ml bottles are available from Morrisons at £1.91 each.
I always crave palate-cleansing green tea after a feast of Chinese food. Jacksons of Piccadilly has just launched two new Fairtrade Sencha Green Teas - flavoured with either lime or elderflower. They're equally refreshing as a mid-afternoon pick-me-up - and they'd probably go well with a stint on the sofa watching feats of Olympic strength and speed. Jacksons of Piccadilly Fairtrade Green Teas are available from supermarkets and selected food outlets nationwide, priced £1.49 for 20 teabags.
If your weekday breakfasts and lunches would make a dietician wince, a new range of juices and nectars might help introduce some balance.
The Manicorganic range, which includes Apple & Beetroot, Orange & Carrot, Pear & Ginger, and Peach, is designed for on-the-go guzzlers. They are all free from concentrates, chemical sweeteners, sugar, flavourings, colouring and preservatives - and they taste fabulous. Pear & Ginger came top of our highly unscientific office poll but it was a close-run thing.
Manicorganic juices are available from independent retailers across the UK or online at www.manicorganic.info, priced £1.40 for a 250ml bottle.
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