Rustic Rhone wines bring out best in spicy foods
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TODAY’S iDeal section delves into the fiery and delicious world of spicy Chinese cooking. Key ingredients include chili peppers, white pepper corns, Sichuan peppercorns and other palate energizing ingredients. These and additional spices are used to provide fiery sensations and enhance the flavors of classic Chinese dishes like Sichuan hotpot, sour-spicy ‘suan la’ fish and soup and pickled pepper fish head.
The outdated, Western-biased belief that wine doesn’t match spicy Chinese dishes still persists in the wine world today. The propagators of this erroneous creed have traditionally been Western wine authorities who have limited knowledge of Chinese cooking. Many neither understand nor partake of spicy Chinese dishes. Reliable wine and food pairing advice requires a detailed knowledge of both food and wine. Fortunately, wine-loving gourmets in China and elsewhere who are more knowledgeable of, and accustomed to, spicy cooking are beginning to rewrite the book on pairing spicy foods. And science is on their side.
Contrary to the popular conception that spicy and numbing ingredients dull the flavors of food, scientific studies indicate that chilies and peppercorns stimulate the receptors of the tongue and sharpen a person’s ability to differentiate the flavors and textures of foods. The sensation of heat or numbness on the palate is actually a result of taste receptors in your mouth sending heat signals to your brain which in turn responds by producing endorphins that block the pain. When eating a spicy dish, this means that despite the initial spicy or numb feeling in your mouth, after a few seconds the natural flavors of the ingredients in the dish are actually accentuated. Likewise your ability to sense the fruit, acidity and tannins in wines is also heightened.
So what’s an appropriate wine for spicy dishes? The answer is a wine featuring generous fruit flavors, moderate oak, soft tannins and an overall exuberant and robust style that stands up to spicy and strongly flavored foods.
The Southern Rhone is best known for two styles of wines, the large region of Cotes du Rhone that makes huge quantities of budget-friendly wines and Chateauneuf du Pape that makes the appellation’s most complex, prestigious and expensive wines. In between these two extremes exist some of the region’s most appealing and distinctive wines that just so happen to be lovely partners to spicy foods.
Located in the northeast of the Southern Rhone is the town and wine region of Gigondas. In 1971, Gigondas separated from Cotes du Rhone to form its own appellation. Almost all the wines here are red with the Grenache variety by law comprising at least 50 percent of the blend. The overt fruity and spicy qualities along with the power and headiness of Gigondas wines make them champion companions to spicy Chinese dishes. Another term often used to describe these wines is rustic. One of my favorite combinations is pairing hotpot with 5-10 year old Gigondas wines. Younger wines may have more aggressive tannins while older wines may be too delicate for spicy hotpot.
Located due south of Gigondas is Vacqueyras, a region that was spun off from Cotes du Rhone into its own appellation in 1990. As elsewhere in the Southern Rhone, Grenache is the dominant variety followed by Mourvedre, Syrah and Cinsault. A good Vacqueyras wine offers one of France’s best red wine price-to-quality ratios. These typically fruity, spicy and soft tannic wines are perfect with Hunan style stir-fry meat and tofu dishes.
Cotes de Ventoux is located in the southeast part of the Rhone Valley and has the coolest climate in the Southern Rhone. The cooler climate results in lighter, fresher red wines that still retain the region’s stylistic fruity and spicy characteristics. These qualities make them perfectly suitable for white pepper seasoned Chinese fish and meat dishes and hearty soups. The aromas and flavors of the white pepper and other ingredients in the dish or soup are embellished by the fresh and zesty Ventoux wines.
When serving Southern Rhone reds with spicy Chinese dishes I strongly suggest you serve them slightly chilled. The cooler temperature will assuage spicy and numbing sensations of the food while mitigating the relatively high alcohol of the wines.
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