It’s no secret to oenophiles that Southeast Asian cuisine and Riesling forge a classic food and wine pairing – and German Riesling in particular. Anyone who has tried this pairing can attest to its fit, but not every wine selection is created equal.
Thai cuisine presents an intense and complex array of spices and flavors. And despite the preternaturally sweet American palate which values such flavors as ketchup and Coca Cola, wine drinkers have been taught that dry wines are inherently superior to their off-dry counterparts. But when Thai food is paired with a fully dry wine, even Rieslings with the most elegant profile and respected pedigree, one quickly finds that a few bites of a curry can crush the wine and send it running for the hills. The sheer power and spice are simply too much for the wine.
Riesling’s ultimate litmus test at the table of Thai is alongside said coconut curry or a similarly spiced dish. An off-dry QbA or Kabinett-level Riesling is generally a much more successful pairing than a dry wine. Only a Riesling with an equally exotic profile and an off-dry sweetness has the flamboyance to tame the heat and match the intensity of the food, punch-for-punch. But why stop at Kabinett?
The most successful wine for such a challenge is a 2006 Spätlese Riesling. The 2006′s are a heavily botrytis-influenced group with broad, smokey, and rich profiles. Producers such as Fritz Haag, Hermann Donnhoff, Josef Rosch, and Andreas Schmitges separated the men from the boys in a vintage that often showed a little too much botrytis, and occasionally corresponding rot. The best producers kept their Spätlese-level wines below dessert sweetness (see chart at right) and ensured versatility at the dinner table while retaining the qualities of the heavily botrytis-influenced vintage.
With your favorite spicy Thai takeout in hand, separate the cork from a bottle of 2006 Spätlese, take a sip and ponder how these perfect bedfellows originated on opposite sides of the globe! We think you’ll agree they achieve much more together than on their own.
After all, how often do wine lovers get to enjoy shamelessly spicy food at the same time? Such dishes are so often relegated to beer pairings. BUT NOT TODAY, our wine-loving friends!
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