Like any great operatic singer, Rhône wines have range. They can be muscular and profound with a black-fruited core that ripples through a percussion background of pitch-perfect tannins, acidity, and that earthy, smokey feralness that lets you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you’re drinking something Old World—something with history and roots thrust deep into French soil. On the flip side, they can be charming and convivial, with soft, welcoming tannins, and generous layers of red fruit and spice rendered more complex by a warm touch of rusticity that the region’s Grenache-dominant blends are known for. They are, quite simply, wines of pleasure, a bushel basket of ripe strawberries and cherries tempered by more serious notes of Garrigue and pepper.
Because Rhône wines are so widely distributed and so affordable, this ancient region is for many, a solid point of entry into French wines. The Rhône Valley AOC as a whole produced a staggering 2,503,055 hl of wine in 2017—for math geeks that translates to over 66 million gallons or 237 million bottles—18% percent of which were exported to the United States.
And yet, for all their ubiquitousness, there are ingrained perceptions about matching Rhône wines—here we push the boundaries, focusing on Asian cuisine, fare that is notoriously difficult to pair. We invited Sommeliers and chefs to come up with a series of unconventional pairings, and much to our delight, the recipes they shared are as inspired and spirited as the wines themselves.
Our first stop, Seattle’s iconic Wild Ginger. The restaurant opened its doors in 1989 and prides itself on being one of the first the nation to elevate Pacific Rim cuisines to a fine dining experience, “certainly, back then, no one thought traditional dishes from Southeast Asia, Indonesia, and China could be compatible with fine wine,” explained Beverage Director, Robert Labuda.
“We love Rhône wines, they’re part of the strength of our list,” he continued. “The whites from the region are trickier than the reds. Full-bodied varieties like Viognier and Roussanne tend to behave more like a red than a white—but Rhône reds, in general, are perfect with Asian food because you have the right amount of acid, tannin, and structure to complement dishes without overpowering them. Rhône wines, especially aged Rhône wines are well-suited for many of dishes our more delicate Cantonese dishes. Sichuan and Thai dishes tend to conflict with tannins and new oak.”
The 2016 Duché d’Uzèsricher Orénia Blanc, a classic blend of Viognier, Marsanne, and Roussanne the Duchy of Uzès AOC proved to be an excellent match with Hanoi-style ahi tuna caught off Hawaii’s crystalline coasts. Phillip Lem, Wild Ginger’s Chef de Cuisine, explained the pairing, “Tuna is perfect as a rare-cut fish. It’s firm and fresh, and the body of the fish complements the body and moderate acidity of this wine. I decided to pan sear it; I wanted to give it a slightly smoky flavor.” To bring out the wine’s nuanced tones of apricot, mint, and anise, he prepared an aromatic puree of sautéed shallots and garlic, black pepper, sugar, fish sauce, and fresh turmeric with a garnish of fresh Vietnamese herbs ngo om, ngo gai, mint, basil, and green onion oil, and crushed almonds for texture.
Their second pairing, a 2015 Grenache-based Côtes du Rhône Villages wine from Laudun Chusclan offered up round tannins, bright acidity and a profile of wild blueberries, plums, licorice, and black pepper. “There’s so much umami from these wines with all the smoky, meaty, peppery flavors that are also predominant in our cooking, that they highlight and elevate each other, mused Labuda. “We paired that with Phillip’s Bo Luc Lak Shaking Beef.”
“With my Shaking Beef, I use a vendor in Texas,” said Lem. “It’s a super-tender Akaushi Beef-Wagyu sirloin that is cut into cubes and wok-seared with brandy, butter, Thai light soy, caramelized onions, mushrooms, and cracked black pepper. We usually accompany proteins with fresh salads, in this case, a salad composed of watercress, tomatoes, cucumbers, cilantro, lime juice, and fish sauce. Keep in mind Vietnam was colonized by the French, so the use of ingredients like butter and black pepper, as well as the introduction of meat-heavy dishes, have been around since the 17th century, and a dish like this one is typically reserved for special occasions like weddings and parties.”
“The last wine was even more red-fruited than the previous one, but much more structured, and powerful, noted Labuda. “We needed more fat to hold up to it, so we went with a Cantonese-style Hoisin-glazed Australian lamb chop.” Both Labuda and Lem commented on the higher tannin levels in the 2015 Les Dauphins Côtes du Rhône as well as its distinctly earthy-cherry core. “We broke the lamb down piece by piece marinated them overnight in honey, Sichuan salt, and brandy. And we finished them on the grill with a Hoisin glaze of ginger, scallions and chili oil, peanuts, and a sprinkling of shaved coconut flakes. This is the heavier side of the Asian palate—here pickled carrots and daikon help to cut the fat.”
“Our ideal is that we don’t want to stray from the traditional, we’re taking old dishes and elevating them and using high-quality ingredients to improve them. Chef Phil is willing to adjust the recipes to make them work with the wines. Sometimes we toss some of the wine into the wok too—there’s so much sweetness and spice, finishing them on the grill creates a kind of synergy,” said Labuda. The culinary team at the restaurant makes everything from scratch, from fragrant curries mixed and ground with a mortar and pestle to the tender egg noodles featured in their Mongolian dishes.
For our second stop, we move east to the tropical climes of Miami Beach. Hakkasan is widely credited as the restaurant to have single-handedly changed the face of Chinese cuisine in the United Kingdom. Since its inception in 2001, the restaurant has broadened its reach by adding locations in Abu Dhabi, Mumbai, more recently, within an enclave of the sleek and sweeping curves of the Fontainebleau Luxury Resort Hotel. Like the Wild Ginger, Hakkasan remains faithful to its roots, with a focus on traditional Canontese gastronomy with a modern flare.
Head Sommelier Brian Gandison manages the wine program, “I adore these wines, and I’m a huge fan of wines from the Northern Rhone, especially Côte Rôtie—they have such delicate spicy flavors work well with our menu.”
“Classic Canontese cuisine has a lot of vivid flavors and balanced sauces, and in designing our wine list, we’ll only consider wines that pair well with several of the dishes on our menu—this is exactly how we approached this exercise, our team sat down and brainstormed all the recipes that would work with these wines. We tasted through them, talked about each one and the reasons why we thought one dish might work better than another. We’re always surprised with what pairs well and what doesn’t.”
For Gandison, all three wines were markedly different in personality, each requiring thoughtfulness to create a balanced pairing. “The Duché d’Uzèsricher Orénia Blanc is 50% Viognier; it’s a very fragrant wine with a peachy, slightly salty aftertaste. We paired it with stir-fried scallops and sugar snap peas, yam beans, ginger, scallions, garlic, and julienned carrot topped with macadamia nuts. The Viognier brought out the salinity of the scallops, and the Roussanne complemented the nuttiness of the macadamias. It’s a very Ying Yang kind sort of pairing, and fun because of the earth on the front-palate and stone fruit on the finish.”
The team settled on a Crispy Duck Salad to play opposite the 2015 Les Dauphines Cote du Rhône Reserve Rouge. Made with shredded, wok-fried duck with fat kept on it, pomegranate seeds pulled out the red fruit aspects of the wine, while pomelo gave the wine a pleasant citrus lift.
“The last dish, seared beef with edamame and basil worked beautifully with the most substantial wine in the lineup.” Gandison is referring to the 2015 L’Emitage Rouge, from the Costières de Nîmes AOC, a well-balanced blend of 40% Grenache, 40% Syrah, and 20% Mourvedre. “Somewhere between the ginger, the basil leaf, and scallions—the riper, more brambly side of this wine perfectly balanced out with the structure of the dish—that was a big surprise for our team. On paper, everyone thought black pepper beef would be the best pairing.”
The common thread in all of these pairings is one of harmony and balance, and a nod to tradition. The wines of the Rhône Valley and the Pan-Asian cuisines Wild Ginger and Hakkasan feature are both deeply rooted in their disparate histories and cultures—and despite evolution on different continents, they find a place of grace and harmony at the table.
This article was originally published in The Summer 2018 issue of The Clever Root.