17426 Wed Sep 05 14:13:44 -0700 2001 8 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 51709 A query via email - "i had a quick question for you. someone asked me to suggest a $15 bottle of wine to go with chinese style seafood for their wedding. i told them i'd ask the expert (you), so when you havesome free time, let me know what you think. if you don't have enough timeto give me exact wineries, then you can generally tell me type of wine and i can take it from there. thanks." If I have any wine with a Cantonese seafood meal, inevitably, at least one bottle with be German Riesling. They are made for each other, especially the perfumed flowery Rieslings from the Mosel Valley. Here's a link to one you can buy locally for $12. Link: http://www.klwines.com/product.asp?sku=990549 Wed Sep 05 14:13:44 -0700 2001 0 Melanie Wong 1 51723 Melanie-What do you think of the Trimbach Pinot Blanc and Gewurz? Had them both recently, quite yummy. RS Wed Sep 05 18:16:13 -0700 2001 51709 0 randy salenfriend 2 51952 I love the austere winemaking style of Trimbach. I especially like the stylish Gewurztraminer which is a marked contrast to the heavy alcoholic and slightly sweet ones made by other Alsatian producers that are getting big scores. In general, I'm not wild about Pinot Blanc, but in Trimbach's hands, there's an extra dose of raciness that makes it a more interesting wine. Where Trimbach really excels though, is for Riesling. Last year I made the pilgrimage to Clos St. Hune (which is unmarked), Trimbach's top vineyard. You need to be patient for the Rieslings though, they need at least 10 years and probably would benefit from 25 years aging. In June, I brought a demi of the 1990 Trimbach "Fredrick Emile" Riesling Vendage Tardive (late harvest) to a Cantonese meal in NY. This wine is just smoking now - most of the sugar has dried up so that it's barely sweet and it's more complex than most red wines. It was stunning with the saute of frogs legs with yellow leeks and the Maine lobster with ginger and scallions. Mon Sep 10 21:31:26 -0700 2001 51723 0 Melanie Wong 1 51750 Melanie - Mosel-Saar-Ruwer = yummy drinking. We eat a lot of asian-inspired cuisine at home, and the Dr. Weins-Prum Riesling (used to get it at Caruso's) is the standby. Apparently, same family as JJ Prum. There are cases of it going at the wine.com auction. Are you going? Wed Sep 05 23:28:10 -0700 2001 51709 0 Fatemeh 2 51953 Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Rieslings are my favorite white wines in the world. Especially from the Saar region which has the most severe weather and the riskiest of growing conditions. However, when they have a great year, there are no better wines anywhere. The various Prums in the Mosel Valley are related. Folks in other parts of Germany will say that Moselers are odd due to too much inbreeding. (g) However, JJ's family was clever to consolidate prime vineyard properties through marriage selection. A friend is coming out from New York for the auction. Guess I should go with her, haven't even looked at the offerings yet. Mon Sep 10 21:43:35 -0700 2001 51750 0 Melanie Wong 1 51945 An alternative could be Hugel's Gentile Hugel. It's quite versatile and seems to please all palates. Good value too at less than $10. Mon Sep 10 19:48:45 -0700 2001 51709 0 Michael Seto 2 51951 Absolutely the "Gentil" from Hugel. Here's a link to a dinner where this was served with nonya cuisine at Shiok! in Menlo Park. For Saturday's Indonesian dinner, the Mendocino County Gewurz and a Riesling Kabinett from Germany's Nahe were beautiful accompaniments. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/16376#44963 Mon Sep 10 21:23:05 -0700 2001 51945 0 Melanie Wong 1 52065 OK folks, I think we have the Reisling/ Alsace thing covered here. There are a few more out there that may do the trick. California Sauv Blanc and Chenin Blancs seem to have the fruit and clean acid to match nicely. If you're talking Cantonese, your choices become even larger as the subtle flavors don't place such a high demand on the wine. Then Loire whites (basically leaner versions of the wines I mentioned above), italian whites and even pinots and chianti work at that point. Rhone reds and even some fleshier cabs show a strong anise elements that I've found works well with five spice and "red-cooked" meats. I've put alot of thought into this subject, and often find myself disapointed with the fact that everyone ends up back at Reisling, Gewurtz, and Zin when the subject comes to Chinese food. Thai food, perhaps, but Chinese is a bit more wine friendly. Fri Sep 14 21:58:35 -0700 2001 51709 0 Detlef Chef 2 52069 I agree with you completely about the diverse offerings of the Cantonese table (the most variety of any Chinese regional cuisine). For the many Cantonese banquets I've arranged for my wine loving friends, there's never been a bottle that we couldn't find a match for on the table. On one occasion we opened nearly 150 different wines to go with a 10-course meal. However, the question was what wine for a wedding banquet and specifically a seafood meal. My assumptions would be that only a single wine is desired to accompany a multitude of dishes, that many folks at the meal are not regular wine drinkers yet would want to participate in toasts, and that red meat dishes would be few. In the under $15 category, there's no better wine value or match for those conditions than a half-dry Riesling from a quality producer in the Mosel. While I love Sauvignon Blanc from all over the globe, in my experience, there are many winelovers who detest this grape. And, I've seen more than one flinch sniffing the glass. As far as Chenin Blancs, yes, a demi-sec Vouvray might do the trick as well. Btw, Riesling is spellied with "I" before "E". Sat Sep 15 00:02:15 -0700 2001 52065 0 Melanie Wong