Pairing wines with mooncakes
Print Edition
Its that time of year again when we get to enjoy yummy mooncakes. These tasty treats are synonymous with the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday and while they’re lovely by themselves they reach new heights of gourmet indulgence when accompanied by the right wine. So this year I suggest you add a modern touch to this ancient holiday by pairing wines with your favorite mooncakes.
Antiquity
The first written account of the Mid-Autumn Festival appears in the “Rites of Zhou,” a collection of rituals from the Western Zhou Dynasty 3,000 years ago. Most historians believe the festival is older, possibly dating back to the early Xia Dynasty. Mooncakes have been credited with helping to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1271-1368). Loyalists from the preceding Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279) were anxious to overthrow the foreign Mongol rulers of the Yuan Dynasty and knowing that the Mongols didn’t eat mooncakes these loyalists came up with an ingenious plan to hide secret messages inside the tasty bites. These cryptic notes instructed the Chinese to rise up en mass against the Mongol rulers on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunar calendar. The rebellion was successful and in 1368 the Ming Dynasty was born. Mooncakes have been an integral part of the Mid-Autumn Festival ever since.
In modern China, the stylistic breath of mooncakes is indeed impressive. There exist a range of traditional sweet and savory cakes as well as new more healthy styles that incorporate new ingredients and preparation methods.
Everlasting sweetness
Two classic sweet mooncakes feature red bean paste or sweet lotus seed paste fillings. The outer pastry is flaky or chewy. These sweet styles beg for wines that accent and distinguish the natural flavors of the fillings while also facilitating digestion. Personally, I prefer a sweet Demi Sec Champagne or sparkling wine as the sweetness of these sparklers mirrors the sweet fillings and the bubbles delightfully tickle and cleanse your palate.
A trio of sparkling wines that admirably achieve the aforementioned come from Limoux in the Languedoc region in the south of France. Blanquette de Limoux, Blanquette Methode Traditional and Cremant de Limoux are three versions of traditional method sparklers, the same method of a second fermentation in the bottle as is used in Champagne. If fact, may people mistakenly believe this method of putting elegant bubbles into wine was invented in Champagne.
In fact, the monks of Saint Hilaire Abbey in Limoux were making traditional method sparklers as early as 1531, which is more than a century before Dom Perignon and the monks of Champagne.
Similar to Champagne, the sparkling wines from Limoux come in brut and sweet or semi-sweet styles and it’s the later two that are best with sweet mooncakes. These wines have the requisite sweetness to complement the sweet fillings and also offer a healthy dose of acidity to cleanse the palate and act as a digestive.
Arguably the best sparkling producer in Limoux is Antech. For six generations the Antech family has been making delicious and stylish sparklers that are better than many Champagnes and still cost considerably less. Two Antech sparkling wines that are simply divine with sweet mooncakes are the Cuvee Elegance Demi Sec and the traditional style Doux et Fruite that is made using the Method Ancestrale. This is the same method that the Saint Hilaire monks used nearly 500 years ago and is unique to Limoux. Other producers of note include Delmas, Jean-Louis Denois and J. Laurens. Choose a lovely sparkling wine from Limoux and you’ll enjoy a Champagne level experience with plenty of money leftover to buy mountains of mooncakes.
Savory and salty versions
Not all mooncakes are sweet. Salty mooncakes stuffed with ham, barbecue pork, chicken, duck, salty egg yolk and other non-sweet ingredients are also popular. These commonly have lard-based pastries and this combination of savory meat and lard is perfectly complemented by a fresh red wine.
At the top of my wine-pairing list for salty, meat-filled mooncakes are robust and fresh New World Pinots. These tend to be bigger, bolder and fruitier than stylish Burgundy and other Old World Pinots giving them the ability to stand up to the most dense and flavorful mooncakes.
Two of the best styles of New World Pinots come from New Zealand and the Pacific Northwest states of Oregon and Washington. These wines make wonderful companions to savory mooncakes as their generous red and black fruit flavors, ample acidity and tannins add elegance to salty mooncakes while nicely offsetting the heaviness of the lard pastry.
Whether your mooncake features meat, salty egg or nut fillings, a New Zealand or the Pacific Northwest Pinot will make these delectable holiday treats even more scrumptious. Good producers with wines available in Shanghai include the New Zealand brands Villa Maria, Felton Road and Mud House and the Pacific Northwest wineries J. Christopher, Erath and Chateau Ste. Michelle.
Where to buy in Shanghai
Region & Style at a glance
Varieties:
The traditional Mauzac variety is the most important grape in Limoux sparkling wines with Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay playing supporting roles.
Key Term:
Crémant is the word used to describe French sparkling wines that use the same traditional method of second fermentation in the bottle as Champagne uses.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
