While many wineries in Canada hope for exports to China, few have made concentrated efforts to reach the local Asian community, according to local vintners.
Christine Coletta and Steve Lornie, owners of the Okanagan Crush Pad, home to Haywire wine, are known and awarded for its innovation. They have introduced a guide pairing B.C. wines with Asian cuisine and are offering a specially labeled Haywire wine crafted for B.C.’s Asian community to celebrate 2014 as the Year of the Horse.
A limited release of only 688 bottles of the 2012 Haywire Pinot Noir has been labelled with good fortune in celebration of the Lunar New Year.
With grapes grown on Secrest Vineyard, a 35-acre cool mountain site above Oliver, the wine was gently aged in old French oak barrels and bottled in its purest state giving it a cherry aroma and fruit-forward flavour with soft texture and light tannins.
The delicious initiative teamed up Haywire with food author and broadcaster Stephanie Yuen and journalist and food stylist Nathan Fong to develop a program and guide of how to pair flavours from various parts of Asia with the flavour profiles that emerge from B.C. wines. They say there are misconceptions that only sweeter wines or big bold reds are the only choices that are made for Asian cuisines and entertaining situations. The team at Haywire developed some basic food and wine pairing dos and donts to consider when picking the best wine to go with Asian cuisine.
Hot Tips for at home and dining out:
— Do bear the overall flavour of the dish in mind when seeking a wine to go with Asian food, instead of paying attention to the base ingredients.
— The acidity in sparkling wines and bubbles pairs very well with a wide selection of food. When in doubt, grab the bubbles.
— Aromatic, sweeter wines pair well with hotter, spicier dishes.
— Crispier, drier whites enhance lighter dishes without overpowering the flavour and texture.
— Reds with light or moderate oak go well with soy or oyster-based dishes.
— Juicy, fruit-forward reds with depth and complexity match nicely with intense-flavoured dishes, deep-fried or braised.
— Acidity and sugar are good counter-balances to spices so look for those in a wine that will stand up to fiery dishes.
— Pork, mushrooms, bean paste or hoisin sauce can conflict with red wines with dry tannins; look for red wines with little or no oak that deliver delicate, fruity and little residual sugar notes.