The Wines and Food We Tasted:

Reception wine:
TJ Krone Borealis MCC sparkling, South Africa

Course 1 from Vietnam
Lemongrass Prawns Brochette With a Green Papaya Salad with Champagne Vinagrette
- Santa Julia Viognier, Argentina 2002
- Cono Sur Viognier, Chile 2002

Course 2 from Thailand
Seared Basa Filet With Green Curry Cream
- Jim Barry Watervale, Clare Riesling, Australia 2001
- Wolf Blass Riesling, Australia 2001

Course 3 from India
Lamb Chops Marinated with Indian Spiced with Cucumber,
Mango and Coriander Chutneys
- Vinum Africa Chenin Blanc, South Africa 2002
- Tahbilk Marsanne, Australia 2001
- D’Arenberg Custodian Grenache, Australia 1999

Course 4 from China
Chinese 5 Spices Duck Breast With Taro Dumpling and Orange Ginger Fond
- Aresti Montemar Carmenere, Chile 2000
- Paul Cluver Pinot Noir, South Africa 2001
- Fundacion Prestigio Tempranillo, Argentina 2000

Dessert Course from the Philippines
Banana and Jack Fruit Spring Roll On a Berry Compote and Coconut Ice Cream
- Aresti Montemar Gewurztraminer, Chile 2001

A truly magnificient evening! This was an event like no other that we know of to happen in Vancouver. Pan-Asian dishes tasted with southern hemisphere wines. Our speaker, Mr. Stephen Wong, spent a considerable amount of time with Executive Chef, Mr. Kim Thai, from the Sutton Place hotel to make this a wonderful culinary experience.

Stephen stepped us through each dish and let us know why we selected the particular wines to pair with the dish. Stephen mentioned how Asian dishes in general have some sweetness to them, to balance off other flavours in the food.

Our reception wine was the TJ Krone Borealis MCC sparkling from South Africa. This wine is a 50-50 blend of chardonnay and pinot noir grapes. This wine had a nice creaminess and finished superbly with a lingering baked apple flavour.

The Lemongrass Prawn Brochette had some spiciness from chili, some saltiness from fish sauce, and sourness from the salad. Viognier was selected to pair with this as there are so many strong flavours, a more delicate wine would be lost. Overall we felt the Cono Sur Viognier was the better match.

The chef, Mr. Thai, spoke to us about the Thai Seared Basa Filet with Green Curry Cream dish, telling us about the Basa fish, and why he chose it. The white firm flesh of the fish tasted wonderful with the green curry cream. We tried two Australian rieslings with our Thai dish. Both rieslings had the textbook petrol aroma. The citrusy character of the reislings worked nicely with the Basa filet. Although both are from the Clare Valley, the styles of the two wines were quite different, with the Jim Barry being more reserved and elegant, while the Wolf Blass was very fruit forward.

The Lamb Chops Marinated with Indian Spices were succulent and flavourful to say the least. The two different chutneys, one sweet and one acidic added an extra dimension to the lamb chops. The Vinum Africa Chenin Blanc and the Tahbilk Marsanne white wines and the D'Arenberg Custodian Grenache red were matched with the lamb chops. The Chenin Blanc is an old vine wine. I noted a watermelon flavour when I tasted it with the food. The Tahbilk had an earthy spiciness to it. The Grenache had an uplifted plum and cherry aromas and a sweetness on the palate. The white wines generally tasted better with the lamb chops. Both the Chinin Blanc and the Marsanne were very full flavoured wines.

Before our last main course, we were suprised with a small sorbet to cleanse our palatte. Our last main course was the Chinese 5 Spices Duck Breast with Taro dumpling and orange ginger. The duck breast was done medium rare. As is the norm when serving duck, the skin and duck fat were on each slice of duck breast. The 5 spice The duck fat enhances the flavour of the duck breast. Three red wines were served with this dish. The Aresti Montemar Carmenere had a tar, spicy, green pepper flavours and aromas. The Paul Cluver Pinot Noir from South Africa was still young and still tannic. It was nonetheless viewed as the best wine with the duck. The Fundacion Prestigio Tempranillo is one of the top of the line wines from this Argentinian winery. It had wonderful cherries and vanilla aroma and flavour. The vanilla coming from aging the wine in American oak. I personally thought that this wine also went well with the duck breast.

Our last dish of the evening was the Banana and Jack Fruit Spring Roll on a berry compote and coconut ice cream. It was matched with the Aresti Montemar Gewurztraminer from Chile. Although not a dessert wine, Stephen wanted people to see that this varietal could be used as a dessert wine. The banana and jackfruit spring roll tasted wonderful with the coconut ice cream. The berry compote, made of raspberries, was a bit too strong for this dish. The Gewurztraminer was a nice way to finish the meal. It had some acidity was not sweet like a dessert wine, which complemented the banana, jackfruit and ice cream.

The evening left us all fully satisfied with superb food, wine and conversation. We did not vote for a favourite wine at this dinner. Many thanks to Stephen Wong and Chef Kim Thai to make this event so memorable.

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