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What type of wine pairs best with Vietnamese food? (updated)

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on February 1 2025 at 15:10

Wednesday marked not only the start of the Chinese New Year but the Vietnamese New Year celebrations too - known as Tet.

As in China there are certain foods which are traditional to the occasion such as pickled vegetables and candied fruits, none of which are particularly wine-friendly but in general I find Vietnamese food, with its milder heat and fragrant herbal flavours easier to match than Thai.

Given that quite a lot of the dishes are food you’d pick up on the street you might not have a glass of wine conveniently to hand but wine, particularly dry white wine, works surprisingly well.

Which grape varieties though?

The grape variety I’ve generally found goes best overall with Vietnamese food where several dishes are generally served at the same time is Austrian grüner veltliner, a combination I discovered a good few years ago now at The Slanted Door in San Francisco.

Its own slightly herbal, green pepper character seems to complement the herbal notes in many Vietnamese dishes perfectly.

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