 I recently walked into a newly-opened Western restaurant and looked at a menu consisting of—no surprise—pizza, pasta and hamburgers. Add the now-ubiquitous German pork knuckle and you have 90% of all the Western dining in Taichung. Thus, I thought I'd look at some wines that go well with each of the above foods.
1. Meat and cheese: Almost all cheese in these dishes is very mild in Taiwan, so we are mainly dealing with the fatty richness. Thus, I would go with something with a bit of firm acidity to balance this fattiness. Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese (the main grape in Chianti) based wines tend to work well, as they are usually medium-bodied and the tannin helps break down the fat both in your mouth and stomach. For slightly richer dishes, try an Australian Cabernet Shiraz, which almost every major Australian producer does in the NT$400-600 and, usually, NT$800-1,000 ranges. Generally, the cheaper ones are usually pretty consistent regardless of brand.
2. Tomato-based pasta dish: I'd recommend something with a touch more sweetness as the wine's acidity and sweetness will accentuate those flavours in the tomatoes. Nothing too sweet, though. Black pepper is also the tomatoes' best friend, so the peppery Grenache (Garnacha in Spain) is often a good base. There are many good options from Spain and, if you want to spend a little more; a favourite of mine is Gigondas from France's Southern Rhone valley. Chapoutier, a great one, is available at many Taiwan stores and another top pick is Dolcetto from Italy.
 3. Creamy dishes: Clearly there is a need to cut across the fattiness of the cream and a pretty standard pairing is Chardonnay—not a huge "New World" buttery style straight out of the '80s, but probably something from southern Burgundy in France like Saint Veran or Pouilly Fuisse would work. A more interesting, underrated wine would be a Pinot Gris. France's Alsace region is the spiritual home for these wines, widely available in Taiwan at reasonable prices. A few good Pinot Gris wines also come out of South America and New Zealand.
Enjoy your pizza, pasta and burgers,
Kris
kris@wineconnection.co.nz
0916-222-336
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March 2013
