I recently had dinner at a new local Thai restaurant Tam Tam and find it amusing to think that despite numerous eclectic wine class tastings, I was not fully prepared to pair Thai chicken wings and mango and papaya salad with a Napa Valley cabernet. My own mental assumption was that the wine I was having would be a distinct beverage and experience from the other food dishes that were forthcoming. And even if I could have asked for a suggestion, the idea of eating family style makes it difficult to receive a recommendation for a pairing with a specific entree or protein type.
Based on publicly available estimates, the US ethnic restaurant scene is projected to grow anywhere from 5-12% per annum over the next few years. As Americans continue to pursue novelty and excitement through their taste buds, and as more renowned chefs experiment with higher-end ethnic dining concepts, I'm curious to see how wine follows suit. In the Bay Area, Benu is a great example of a restaurant that serves high-end food with a clear ethnic influence, but also boasts "Our wine list contains 300 selections with an emphasis on France, California, Germany and Austria. We also offer a variety of wines and sake by the glass, select beers, and a beverage pairing to accompany the menu. Corkage is $80 per bottle."
From the guest speakers that we've had in class, it's clear that wine is becoming more localized to internationally-oriented taste buds. For example, on one of the slides about describing wine notes, there were multiple food items that are very targeted to specific geographies. But I'm curious to more broadly rethink the role that high-quality wines plays in pairing with food from all different backgrounds to create an inherently international meal.
I loved this post, Cong! I think it's thoughtful to consider how the wine industry is prepared (or not) for evolving culinary preferences of consumers.
ReplyDeleteYour point on family style offerings reminds me of something that has come up a few times in class -- wine pairings are a farce? I grew up learning that ordering fish required white wine and steaks required a full-bodied red. But I know Alyssa mentioned that these rules aren't as cut and dried as we expect. A family style meal, as is common in Thai restaurants, presents a unique opportunity.
I think this puts more onus on consumers to understand their own preferences - I know I like a medium-bodied red with pretty much anything - and makes something like the Gabriel Glas more appealing!
I think about this issue a lot! I often try to follow the rule of thumb to order a wine that is from the same region as the cuisine. This clearly doesn't work when you have cuisines from non-wine-producing regions, and I find that Asian cuisines (especially those with spice) are often paired with German wines like Riesling or Gewurtzraminer. I learned in my WSET course that you want low alcohol with spicy food, because alcohol amplifies the spice. I also think an easy drinking wine like a Pinot Grigio works well against such strong flavors. But given that most of these areas have a local beer, wine is probably not what most consumers think of when deciding what to drink with their meal. I think it will take more wine education to consumers more broadly to get wine to gain traction with ethnic cuisine.
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