Perfectly Balanced, Or Should it be?

The other day I was having seafood with beer at a local daipaidong when I saw a group of construction workers next to us drinking Chivas 12 out of beer glasses, munching on spicy chicken casserole, and just generally having the time of their life. I scoffed at the thought of such an unconventional pairing, imagining the clash of flavors and the damage that this high-octane spirit can do to an already burning hot tongue. But then it hit me, isn’t the thrill of eating something that hurts the entire point of having spicy food? 

The golden rule of wine pairing has been drilled into our brains since we first started drinking. Red meat with red wine, white meat with white wine, sweet food with an even sweeter wine. Yet thinking outside of this framework may yield surprising results. I tested the idea of beverage as a heat / spice enhancer by pairing Sami-Odi Hoffmann Dallwitz Syrah 2020, a young, high alcohol and densely fruity red wine from the Barossa Valley with Sichuan boiled fish. The higher alcohol and warmer serving temperature of the wine intensified the spiciness of the dish while the ripe fruit characters stood up to the strong flavours of the dish without showing much bitterness.

If I have to recount the most mind-blowing pairing I’ve ever had, it has to be the time when I joined a wine pairing dinner with a winemaker specialising in Bordeaux-style clarets. When the waiters were going around the table taking orders, I overheard the winemaker ordering a grilled seabass for his main dish, which of course, I followed suit. When I tried the seabass with a sip of the 20-year-old claret (try out a similar wine here) intended to be paired with steak, I was immediately transported to a Sunday afternoon at the beach. Somehow, this combination of fish and red wine created an explosion of ocean and mineral flavors, just like I’m sipping on the liquor from a freshly shucked oyster. Excited to hear what the winemaker has to say about this pairing, I asked him why he ordered the fish with this red. Can you guess what he said? “I had too much beef this week and wanted something lighter.”

So, if there’s one thing I’ve learnt from my journey through wine pairing, it is to forget what I’ve learnt. Only if you are willing to go down the road less taken, will you be able to experience something unforgettable.