RELAX
Sweet Wine O’ Mine
Oh, Oh, Oh,
Choosing and enjoying wines
can sometimes be seen as
daunting and inaccessible
for many but they are
great beverages and
accompaniments to many
family dinners, even for the
older children. We crush the
grapes and get the juice on
wines for the family.
Over the years, wine consumption around
the world has gradually increased year
on year, barring during the period of
the global financial crisis in 2007 and
2008. The entire world has been steadily
uncorking more and more bottles, from
about 2,600 million cases in 2003 to more
than 2,700 million cases last year.
Yet, according to a Morgan Stanley report
released in October 2013, global wine
production has been decreasing since
2004. In 2012, it reached its lowest level in
40 years and the numbers are expected
to rebound slightly in the next few years,
analysts predict consumption will be
outstripping supply due to one major
factor – China.
The most populated country in the world
is drinking a lot of vino – Chinese wine
consumption has doubled twice in the
last five years.
So, what does this mean for the normal
wine consumer like you and me? Well,
perhaps it’s time to indulge in a few
cases of the nectar of the Gods for you
and the whole family before wine prices
predictably shoot through the roof in the
next decade.
Paul Gerken, CEO of online wine
merchant Wine-Family.com, and Clinton
Ang, Managing Director of CornerStone
Wines, shares with us their insights on
the wine industry, recommends wines
that are suitable for the entire family, and
shatters a few common misconceptions
many people have about wine.
24
Family & Life • Mar 2014
Instead of serving wine with steaks, why not
serve wine together with chicken rice instead?
The idea might not be as preposterous as you
think. After all, the range of CornerStone Wines
were specifically created for Asian cuisines such
as bee hoon goreng, hokkien mee and chicken
rice in mind.
Throw out the food and wine pairing principles
of the West out of the window when you are
dealing with Asian food and start from the basics
– pairing flavours together. You should look at
whether a dish is sweet, salty, fatty or spicy and
then, find out how this will complement your
wine. Here are some general guidelines:
• Salt in food brings out the fruit in wine – the
saltiness makes you appreciate the pleasant
fruit in the wine
• Sweetness and spice enhance the perception
of alcohol and astringency (sharpness or
bitterness), and can be unpleasant, which it
is not a good idea to pair red wine with crispy
chilli beef in sweet sauce, even though beef is
red wi ne’s traditional partner
• Acidity in food reduces the overall acidic
qualities in wines
In general, according to Clinton, Italian moscato
wine and German Riesling are “well-matched for
Asian cuisines”.
Gerken breaks it down even further for specific
favourite Singaporean dishes.
SINGAPOREAN FOOD AND WINE PAIRINGS
Dim Sum
“Dim sum can often be fatty and oily, so go for
something high in acidity. The flavours tend to
be lighter, so white would be best. Try a Chablis,
Sancerre or Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand
or Casablanca Valley in Chile.”
Chilli/Black Pepper Crab
“A light and floral white wine with light residual
sugar and low alcohol such as a Gewürztraminer
from the Alsace region would go well. If you
prefer something red, do go for something with
low tannin such as a Beaujolais from France.”
Chicken Rice
“I will stick with white wine, specifically, a
Chardonnay/Sémillon blend. The Mâconnais
region in France produces a buttery-styled
Chardonnay that will go well with chicken
rice. If you can find it, an Albariño from
Spain offers an intense peach-apricot fruit
character, balanced with high acidity, which
will cut through the oily elements of this
dish pleasantly. For red wine drinkers, I
recommend a Pinot Noir from Washington
State, USA or Malborough, New Zealand.”
WHAT ARE SOME WINES YOU WOULD RECOMMEND THAT
THE WHOLE FAMILY CAN ENJOY?
Gerken: It is always hard to please the whole family at
once, so the trick is to go for something that is the least
disagreeable! Assuming you have novice drinkers in the
family who are a little unsure about wine, you should go
for something that is soft, round and fruit-forward, without
too much acidity or tannin. For red wines, you can go
for merlot from Chile, which are reasonably priced and
versatile. For white wines, I would recommend a quality
chardonnay from Australia, as the long hours of sunlight in
Oz give very ripe fruit, leading to more sugar and an easydrinking, fruit-forward style.
Clinton: Gerken is right about merlot varietals as they are
more plummy and fruity, which makes them easy to drink.
I would also recommend going for wine from family-owned
wineries because these tend to be more focused on quality
and commitment, and purchasing vintage wines; nonvintage wines are usually a blend of leftovers. It is also a
good practice to buy a balance of champagnes, white, red
and dessert wines so that you can sample to see which
type everyone prefers.
WHAT ARE THE WINE TRENDS THAT YOU SEE TAKING
OFF IN A BIG WAY IN SINGAPORE?
Gerken: Well, many wineries and importers are looking
to engage more with consumers using social media and
I strongly believe that online social interaction will move
closer to the purchasing platform. As for consumption
behaviour, at the moment, red wine is more predominant
here but I think that a growth in white wine drinking is just
around the corner, not just in Singapore but the whole of
Asia. With a growing wine consumer base, I hope there
also comes a growing appreciation of white varietals.
WHAT ARE SOME MISCONCEPTIONS THAT YOU HAVE
HEARD ABOUT WINE?
Gerken: There are a few that I have heard such as:
• The very best wine is only French
While France produces some absolutely exceptional
wines, the country also produces some very average
wines. In fact, at the lower price ranges, I would actively
avoid French, as things can get pretty nasty down
there! If you do not have the pockets for a Domaine de
la Romanee Conti, Chateau Lafite or Chateau Margaut,
you are better off broadening your horizons and
exploring other great wine making regions around the
world like Australia, Chile and New Zealand.
• All wines get better with age
This is definitely not true. Each bottle of wine
has its drinking range and this depends on a
lot of factors, so blindly leaving a wine to age
and assuming that something magical will
definitely happen is definitely not the right
course of action. In fact, the vast majority of
wines are made and released ready-to-drink.
So, do not leave them lying around. Just pop
the cork and
enjoy life!
Paul: The most
common that
I have heard is
that the longer
you keep the wine
for, the better it is.
As Gerken mentions, that
is a gross misconception
because most commercial
wines are produced to be
drunk the moment it
is bought.