Matching wine with fusion food

There seems to be quite a buzz around pairing wine with spicy food at the moment - detractors saying it’s a waste of time, people like me saying that on the contrary you can derive a good deal of pleasure from it.

Last night’s dinner at the Covent Garden restaurant Tamarai, which featured a series of one-to-one matches devised by wine writer Charles Metcalfe and his wife Kathryn McWhirter was a case in point, showing that even when you venture beyond the usual suspects (aromatic wines) you can find many successful combinations. Here’s what we ate and drank:

Sweet chilli lotus root with chives and fresh coriander
A really delicious ‘nibble’ - the lotus root was covered with a slightly sticky glaze which went really well with a crisp, limey 2007 Knappstein Hand Picked Riesling from the Clare Valley

Smoked salmon thayar Satham (curd rice) with tomato pickle
Another one-bite canap that was less spicy than it sounded. Paired very successfully with a 2007 Laroche Chardonnay Terret from the Languedoc (an unoaked wine that would in fact have worked well with other smoked salmon dishes)

Soft shell crab with flame roast coconut and masala (spiced) mayo
A perfectly sound pairing with a richer, fuller-bodied Stonier Chardonnay from the Yarra Valley. Other possibilities would have been a Viognier (which would have picked up on the coconut) or a glass of sparkling wine (always good with deep fried foods)

Hoisin duck spring roll with pickled plum sauce
Not quite as it sounds - the flavours were hot and citrussy - more Thai than Chinese and as such a great foil for a 2007 Spy Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

Beef Satay, wasabi yoghurt
Apparently Charles had picked a Rioja Crianza with this mildly spiced dish which I think would have worked really well though for some reason it wasn’t on offer. None of the other wines were quite up to it

Mango and green papaya, banana blossom pandana dressing
Listed on its own without a pairing this sharply flavoured salad certainly wasn’t an easy customer. The Spy Valley Sauvignon worked best. The Knappstein Riesling survived

Curry leaf tiger prawns with wild rice uppama
Also partnered with the Spy Valley Sauvignon which worked well with the spicy tomato marinade

Masala Morels with water chestnut and herb lemon rice
Quite a mild dish served with a dosa which, together with the morels made it quite wine-friendly. A less acidic wine - the Stonier chardonnay - worked well here, as, I think, would a Pinot Noir

Thai Chicken Green Curry, pea aubergine, young bamboo shoots
One of only two pairings I didn’t really think worked, partly because I wasn’t mad about the slightly bubblegummy 2007 Vivanco Rioja rosado (which would probably have matched better with a meat curry or the beef satay) The Sauvignon survived - just. An Alsace Pinot Gris (or, to be honest, a witbier) would have been a better pairing.

There were also three desserts: a seasonal fruit satay (a nice way to end a meal of this kind) a roasted sesame and white chocolate semi-freddo with wild berry coulis and iced mango with goji berries with bitter chocolate mousse, none of which really worked with the accompanying slightly lightweight 2006 Muscat de Rivesaltes from Jean Marc Lafage. A beerenauslese or other very sweet riesling with good acidity might have done the trick but the combination of mango and chocolate was far from easy.

The only drawback about this approach is that an Asian meal typically features a selection of dishes rather than serving them one at a time but if you were serving Westernised fusion-style dishes at home you could find the suggestions useful.

Overall I felt the Spy Valley New Zealand Sauvignon and Knappstein Riesling were the most versatile wines but the meal certainly showed it is possible to pair an oaky chardonnay with spicy food.

There seems to be quite a buzz around pairing wine with spicy food atthe moment - detractors saying it’s a waste of time, people like mesaying that on the contrary you can derive a good deal of pleasure fromit. Last night’s dinner at the Covent Garden restaurant Tamarai,which featured a series of one on one matches devised by wine writerCharles Metcalfe and his wife Kathryn McWhirter was a case in point,showing that even when you venture beyond the usual suspects (aromaticwines) you can find many successful combinations.

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