RAISE A GLASS
CHINESE New Year is upon us and the celebrations to mark the Year of the Dog will continue until the Lantern Festival on Friday March 2. That means you have plenty of time to mark the occasion with a lovely Chinese meal and wine pairing.
Aromatic white wines are great (such as gewurztraminer or riesling) but if you don’t want to step too much out of your comfort zones, here are three white wines tried and tested with Chinese dishes.
Peter Yealands Sauvignon Blanc 2017
(around £8 Sainsbury’s, Co-op, 12.5% abv) Last week I visited the home of this wine in Marlborough, New Zealand, and tasted it with Yealands’ winemaker Jeff Fyfe. A few yards away the ocean crashed against the coastline as the vineyards bathed in the sun.
The wine has a zip of juicy lemon and lime, tropical fruit and a lovely mineral quality. At home, before my NZ visit, I’d enjoyed a glass with stir-fried prawns and noodles dashed with flecks of chilli.
Gasper Chardonnay Rebula, Slovenia 2016
(£9.95, etonvintners.com, 12.5% abv) A Slovenian wine might not be the obvious choice to go with Chinese food, but this smooth, slightly dry white is perfect with the hot, sweet and sour flavours of a typical takeaway banquet. There’s very little acidity on the tongue and it’s hard to imagine a Chinese dish it wouldn’t go with. The Ribolla Gialla grape is the secret ingredient, giving extra depth of flavour and a subtle, rounded finish to the chardonnay, in a roughly 50-50 blend.
Hunawihr Pinot Gris Lieu-dit Muehlforst
(£14.99, or £12.99 in a buy six deal at Majestic, 13% abv) is a veritable treat with Chinese pork belly. This pinot gris, from the French region of Alsace, is alive and zingy with quince and apricot, and a slight dash of spice. I won’t lie, I’ve been sipping a few glasses of pinot gris in the past few days and it is definitely my new favourite wine.
WIN THE WINES THE STARS WILL BE DRINKING:
IF you’re settling down to watch the EE British Academy Film Awards ceremony on Sunday don’t be jealous of the stars sipping their celebratory wines because I’m offering you the chance to win those same wines. I have three prizes to give away, of three bottles each, which will include an exclusive BAFTA-labelled bottle of Champagne Taittinger Brut Réserve NV; a Villa Maria
Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc 2017 and a Villa Maria Private Bin Pinot Noir 2016.
Taittinger and Villa Maria (New Zealand’s most awarded winery) are both long-term partners to BAFTA.
To be in with a chance of winning, tell me the names of the three grapes which are allowed in a champagne blend.
Email your answer to jane@ onefootinthegrapes.co.uk by noon, Wednesday February 21. Title your email ‘WIN WINES’ and please include a mainland UK address and telephone number for delivery.
Only one entry per household and entrants must be 18 or over.
Visit bafta.org for more information.