Texture and Complexity for Asian Food & Wine w/ Sunny Liao & Philippe Venghiattis, Vinus Club

If as many Asians drank wine as the average American, we’d have ~100,000 more wine drinkers. And if Asian restaurants had wine lists at the average rate, we’d have ~5,000 more restaurants with wine lists. This is one of the foundations of the Asian Wine Association of America (“AWAA”), whose mission includes bringing wine to Asian cultures, of which food is central. Part of bridging this divide is exploring Asian food and wine pairing. One of AWAA’s board members, Sunny Liao, Co-founder and CEO, and Philippe Venghiattis, Cellar Master of Vinus Club, delve into their extensive experience pairing wine with Asian foods. 

Detailed Show Notes: 

Sunny’s background: exposed to wine from 6, wine educator with Lady Penguin in China, Wine MBA, wine consultant for restaurants, board member of AWAA

Philippe’s background: exposed to wine from 3, worked in wine auctions, then went to UC Davis and is a vineyard manager and winemaker as well as operations for Vinus Club

Vinus Club is a wine club focused on introducing wine to Asian consumers, including a wine dinner series

Asian food: texture is a big focus, meals often have a diverse assortment of food at once, often need more than 1 wine to pair

Wine w/ at least 5-6 years of age are more accessible to a wider array of flavors and spice vs the pure fruit of young wines, more complexity helps for pairing

Spicy foods work well w/ wines w/ a denser mid-palate that buffer the alcohol

Philippe’s first challenge with Asian food and wine was at UC Davis with spicy hot pot

Eastern palates tend to be more sensitive to acid and more into texture (e.g. - the texture of Petite Sirah attractive to Eastern palates)

Pairing suggestions

• Aged Alsatian whites (15-20 years old) work well, they have texture, complexity, and mid-palate to buffer the spice
• Smargad Riesling w/ a few years of age pairs well w/ Singaporean food
• Braised duck and Barolo
• Flor de Muga Blanco’s aging process adds texture
• Orange and volcanic wines work for younger wines
• Champagne w/ a large amount of reserve wine
• Jura wines a natural fit for a lot of categories
• Nicolas Joly’s Coulee de Serrant w/ ~15 years of age often pairs well, but also shows a lot of variation

Hardest pairings: 

• Korean food; often has a hint of sweetness, hard to balance w/ wine
• Indian cuisine

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