Pinot Noir and Asian food

Following Lauraine Jacobs' report earlier this week from the Pinot Noir 07 conference in Wellington here are some more timely thoughts on pairing pinot with Asian food from another attendee Ch'ng Poh Tiong, fellow Decanter contributor and publisher of The Singapore Wine Review:

“Pinot is just so very versatile with Asian food.

Provided it is served cool, and in the case of fruity versions, cooler than normal red wines, closer to Gamay and Beaujolais, Pinot Noir is irresistible with chicken and lamb briyani. Even fish and prawn briyani.

Although champagne is better (and there's pinot there), cool Pinots are also very convincing with Cantonese dim sum, even Japanese tempura.

This particular time of the year, Winter and the approach of the Lunar New Year, Pinot Noir is brilliant, inseparable with dried Cantonese liver and pork sausages and waxed duck (a bit like confit de canard).

Pinot Noirs, especially with some evolution, is outstanding with Asian vegetarian dishes, including tofu in stews, dried black mushrooms, and, if for the connoisseurs of Chinese cooking, sea cucumber and duck's web.

Although not as long as the Great Wall of China, the pairing possibilities are many and include:

* Biryani - chicken, lamb or vegetarian

* Cantonese roast goose and roast pork (otherwise known as char-siew) and roast pork belly

* Cantonese dim sum

* Cantonese dried liver and pork sausages and waxed duck

* Japanese Tempura and Teppanyaki

* Korean Beef Bulgogi

* Teochew or Chiuchow braised goose

* Tandoori Chicken and Lamb

* Xinjiang Roast Leg of Lamb