Crispy chilli lime squid with edamame bean and coriander salad and pinot gris

Having picked up a heavy cold a couple of days before flying to New Zealand last week I arrived unable to taste a thing but this delicately pretty wine from Brick Bay Winery in Matakana managed to penetrate the fog.

It undoubtedly helped to have drunk it at an outdoor table at the winery cafe underneath their pinot gris vines.

It went perfectly (I’m pretty sure) with my dish of crispy squid and edamame bean salad and I suspect would have gone equally well with my neighbour’s chicken salad*.

Although sauvignon blanc still totally dominates the New Zealand wine scene pinot gris appears to be becoming increasingly popular, not least because of its versatility with food.

* Undoubtedly true - I had a similar Asian-style chicken salad with a pinot gris at Wairau River in Marlborough which was equally good.