Sherry varieties suit festive times
Quick question – what’s the least known and least expensive of the world’s great wines? The answer is Sherry! From bone dry to super sweet there’s a Sherry for every occasion, especially Christmas. Sherry is a fortified wine from Jerez, a magical city of 3,000 years history and tradition that’s located in southwestern Spain. In fact, the Jerez-Xeres-Sherry D.O. wine region is the southernmost wine region in Europe. From the sun-baked white soils of the Sherry Triangle, a wine growing area that is bordered by the three ancient city-towns of Jerez, Sanlucar and El Puerto, comes some of the world’s most intriguing and distinctive wines. The special solera system of aging wines of different vintages in American oak casks for a minimum of three years and sometimes for over 100 years, results in wines that are truly unique in the world. Whether you’re a wine expert or beginner, you are sure to find something beautiful in a glass of Sherry. Experts will appreciate the clarity, exuberant bouquet, intensity, complexity and long finish of good Sherry wines, while the beginner may just understand this is something new and delicious.
Wine and cheese－perfect winter warmers
Fresh back from my Spanish wine and food trip, my memories of tasting beautiful wines and cheeses are vivid. The pairing of wines and cheeses is always a good idea and especially so in the cold winter months. Whether at a meal or as an afternoon snack with friends, this is an ideal way to enjoy wines. Shanghai, like northern Spain, shares cold winter days when a good wine and fragrant cheese can warm your spirit as well as your body. With this in mind, I’d like to introduce readers to some delicious ways to enjoy wine and cheese together. There are a few simple rules to follow. Soft creamy cheeses tend to go well with many types of dry wines; more acidic cheeses like goats cheese pair well with a similarly acidic wines like Sauvignon Blanc or Albarino; hard cheeses go nicely with tannic reds; try salty or stinky cheeses with sweet wines; and when lost pair a cheese from a certain region with a wine from that region. It’s also important to serve cheese at room temperature to allow the flavors to come out. Serving cold cheese straight out of the refrigerator will mask the lovely flavors and textures of the cheese.
這西班牙經典─里奧哈紅酒與羊肉
在美食與美酒的國度裡，西班牙雄霸一方。世界上最棒的伊比利火腿、最受歡迎的卡瓦氣泡酒、可口的西班牙小點和獨一無二的雪利酒，全都是經典的西班牙佳餚。本月專欄中我著眼於里奧哈紅葡萄酒與羊肉的介紹，以上兩者都是我的最愛。他們各自的滋味已經相當美妙，只是當他們一起享用時，那種水乳交融的美味關係，是很難有其他食物的組合可以比得上的！
里奧哈常常被稱為法國的波爾多，事實上，這兩個地區的確有歷史關連。19世紀根瘤蚜蟲重創波爾多時，許多葡萄酒生產者從波爾多搬遷到西班牙北部的里奧哈。他們引進釀酒技術，而相似的大西洋氣候和土壤也足以讓他們釀造出他們所喜愛、層次豐富而結構均衡的紅葡萄酒。里奧哈於是搖身一變成為西班牙最著名的葡萄酒產區。兩個重要因素的結合，造就人人喜愛的「里奧哈風格」，其一是田帕尼優葡萄的採用，其二是主要以美國橡木桶進行長期陳年的方式。其成果便是世界上口感最為滑順、風味最為豐富誘人的紅葡萄酒。 Read more
Spanish Kingdom of quality big red wines
Wine and travel have long been great partners. For those of us who make their living writing and talking about wines, travel is not a luxury but an essential. When you read this column, I’ll be flying back to Shanghai from a one week trip to Spain’s historic first kingdom, the region of Castilla y Leon. This expansive region in the north of Spain produces many of Spain’s greatest wines. Rolling mountains, low flying clouds and valleys filled with vines provide visitors with a striking, somewhat wild and windswept landscape. These influences of nature also make the region perfect for making high quality red wines. Castilla y Leon is a huge place with nine major wine regions. The most famous region is D.O. Ribera del Duero, while D.O. Toro is the new “rock star” region with hoards of adoring wine drinking fans.
西西里豔陽下的瓊漿玉液
荷馬的史詩著作《奧德賽》（The Odyssey），引起了世人對西西里（Sicily）葡萄酒的關注。有千年釀酒歷史的西西里島歷經了多次的起伏盛衰，不過今天，這個小島可是無庸置疑的越來越熱門了。在20世紀的絕大時間裡，西西里的葡萄要麼供應當地消費，要麼以桶裝酒方式銷售至歐洲較北的區域，提供瓶裝葡萄酒所需的糖分和酒精。西西里的葡萄酒一直被認為口感過熟、酒精度太高、欠缺優雅；其實，這並不是葡萄本身的問題，問題出在當地過高的溫度和現代釀酒設備的缺乏。在釀酒過程中，熱氣以及在氧氣中暴露會影響葡萄，導致釀出的葡萄酒受到氧化而喪失風格和清新度。
然而，隨著在新興科技和現代釀酒技術上的投資，西西里葡萄酒已成為最讓人振奮、價格平易近人的義大利酒代表之一。倘若你喜歡色澤深沉、口感濃郁，且帶有陽光特質、散發辛香料氣息的紅酒，或是色澤金黃、口感清新、成熟且果味充沛的白酒，西西里都可滿足你的需求。此外，西西里葡萄酒濃郁強勁的特質，使得它們不會輕易被重口味菜餚所淹沒，這一點讓它們尤其適合搭配許多滋豐味足的中式料理。 Read more
Fun to match old and new world styles
When addressing wine professionals and wine enthusiasts around the world, I am fond of saying that ultimately we are in the business of creating memories. For the thousands of wine events that I have planned and conducted over the years, my goal has always been to create a special memory that participants will never forget. It’s not enough to have everyone enjoy the wine and food and then a mere two weeks later forget what they drank. Creating memories necessitates using wines to tell an interesting story that facilitates memory.
Battle of Worlds
One of my favorite themes is the battle of the worlds, the old world (Europe & the Near and Middle East) that has been making wines for thousands of years vs. the new world (U.S., Chile, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, etc.) that has come a long way in just few centuries. This is also a great theme for a fun wine dinner at home with six or more friends. Of course, more friends allow for more wines. Read more
中式早午餐 - 港式點心與薄酒來
把西方的葡萄酒和中國的飲食文化結合起來，是一項具有挑戰性又相當值得的經歷。港式點心不僅是一種餐點，也是一個社交產物，比18世紀末期開始流行的西式早午餐更多變化和趣味性，是週末近午或午後消磨時間的好方法之一。雖然中國文化的純粹主義者可能會堅持只有茶可以搭配這些種類繁多的點心，但我更傾向於引入一些變化－葡萄酒。除了香檳、汽泡酒或一瓶不錯的粉紅酒，薄酒來紅酒(Beaujolais)也是一個讓人耳目一新的好選擇。一桌傳統的港式點心，通常包括蒸、烤、煎、炸的諸如海鮮、肉類、蔬菜和澱粉類食物，烹飪方式和食材的多樣性，對葡萄酒而言是一個挑戰，但薄酒來的特質卻可滿足這些「挑戰」。優質薄酒來中豐富的果味及適宜的酸度，使得它在搭配食物方面顯得八面玲瓏，這是在搭配像港式點心這樣多元的料理時相當關鍵的元素。此外，一瓶好的薄酒來不但可以清淨味蕾上的油膩感受，也可突顯各式點心變化迥異的口感；與其絕配之經典點心包括蝦餃、蘿蔔糕、炸腐皮捲、燒賣、豆豉排骨、春捲、牛肉球和各式燒臘，而我個人最愛的搭配是鳳爪！
Beaujolais Nouveau fun times in a bottle
Later this week, Beaujolais Nouveau madness hits Shanghai. Therefore it’s a good time to take an honest look at this much-hyped and often misunderstood wine. This is not a great or classic wine and most wine snobs won’t go near a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau. But that’s what makes this wine so fun. Wine people tend to take wines and themselves too seriously, so I find the simple exuberance and easy-going nature of Beaujolais Nouveau refreshing. The wines aren’t bad either.
北京烤鴨的完美酒伴
北京烤鴨在中國美食文化裡，可算是發光發熱的一道指標性料理。很少能有菜色像它一樣同時受到中西方美食家的擁護與愛戴。在我的工作領域裡，常常需要款待不少國際知名的美食美酒專家。而在為這些來自不同地區、卻又同時有著敏銳味蕾的客人挑選菜色時，北京烤鴨是個極佳的選擇。融合了高級食材、純熟的料理功夫與絕妙的視覺呈現，再加上無比美味的口感和質地，這道中國傳統料理從未讓人失望過，即便是最挑剔的美食家亦然。
據記載，北京烤鴨最早出現的時間可追溯到元朝（西元1206~1368年），當時名列為宮廷菜之一。在十四、十五世紀時，這道菜的作法是將羊內臟與青蔥填入鴨腹當中，並以炭爐烘烤。經過了幾世紀的交替，人們料理這道菜的方式也幾經變更，直到清朝之後這道菜才逐漸成為我們現在所見的形式。就跟世上各式各樣的經典菜色一般，必定會歷經一段相當長的時間來改良、精進，直到成就完美。 Read more
Red wines can be paired with fish
When paring wines with Chinese food in Shanghai there are two unavoidable realities. Firstly, red wine is quite popular and secondly, there are many delicious seafood dishes. Dare we break the historical anecdote, “white wines with fish and red wines with meat”? My answer is an emphatic yes. While it is true that most white wines tend to pair better with fish and red wines with red meat, there are several delicious exceptions.