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+--- Thread: Wines For Asian Influenced Foods (/thread-932.html)
- Randy Caparoso - 03-16-1999
Folks, I'm brand new as of 3/16; joining the Wine Board through the prompting of The Wine Curmudgeon (TWT, Vol. S/4). I'm open to queries and comments as the partner/wine buyer for 8 restaurants located across the U.S. which specialize in Hawaii inspired (re "melting pot") "Euro-Asian" food. Our chef/owner is no slouch (a James Beard Award winner), and our restaurants and short wine lists have won every award in the book (except from the Spectator, which likes big lists). This is not 21 Questions. I'm just a pure wine lover with 25 years of both professional and home experience under my belt (i.e. 30 extra pounds since coming of drinking age). And I haven't shut up about it since!
Randy from Roy's
- Bucko - 03-17-1999
Hi Randy! A BIG welcome. I know your name from somewhere - it is bugging me as to who told me about you. Do you know Melanie Wong by chance? My wife and I have ate at Roy's on many occasions and at different locations. We were stationed at Tripler Army Med Cen from 1994-96 before we exited the military. We loved the food.
I am part of a die-hard group of enophiles and Pacific Rim fanatics, who meet at various restaurants in the Seattle area once a month. We have found that Alsatian Gewurztraminer, Alsatian Pinot Gris, German Reislings, and various Loire Valley white wines work best with the majority of the foods.
I must say that I inadvertantly hurt their feelings when they took me to Wild Ginger, a locally popular spot in Seattle for Thai food. When asked what I thought, I told them that the place would go out of business in Honolulu in about a week - the quality just does not stand up to the likes of Roy's, Alan Wong's, etc.
I hope that you will stick around and enlighten us a bit with your experience and knowledge.
Bucko
- Karena Shannon - 03-17-1999
Hello and Welcome Randy,
Were you with Roy's when they added the one at Spanish Bay? Only reason I ask is that my husband and I were working for the resort then and may have bumped into you. Agree with Bucko; the food is to kill for.
I don't envy your job as a wine-buyer for them though. Every time Jake and I went to Roy's, it was iced tea time (that or try to match the lobster potstickers, Bangkok hot pot, coconut ono, etc...).
One thing I REALLY wish they would've had when we were there was a cruvinet-type unit. That way, it'd be, "a glass of Pinot with this, Gewurz with that, Rose with that other thing...oh, and could you call a cab? <G>"
Just a thought,
- Jerry D Mead - 03-17-1999
Good grief! Someone actually reads those mmad mumblings?!
Welcome, Randy.
JDM
- Randy Caparoso - 03-17-1999
Thanks, JDM. A kind word from the Curmudgeon is worth diving into anything. So here goes...
Bucko, I've been Roy's partner/v.p./wine buyer from the beginnings of our first restaurant in East Honolulu in 1988 (my, how time flies -- we're no longer exactly fresh and "hot" either, I guess). I also threw up a barrage of comments on the old Compuserve Forum for a grand total of two months some four years ago; before my wife and daughter (it was their p.c.) stepped in and pulled the plug. Talked to Melanie a lot then, but not since.
Appreciated your comments on us, Alan Wong's., et al. The cooking out here in the islands, by the way, is better and more sophisticated than ever. Just a short time
ago a lot of people feared that it was getting carried way -- culinary fusion draws that out of many people. But I'm sure you know that it works because, well, all cooking is basically fusion at its roots if not ends. It's the way of the world, this gastronomic evolution (just a lot faster these days).
Over the years, we've worked with just about every wine available and made our judgements on how they work in Asian seasoned contexts by our guests' as much as by our own assessments. Alsatian Gewurztraminer, however, has always been a tough one for almost everything we do except, say, game birds and the "other white meat"; especially since even in average years the better producers seem to aim for big, intense styles (the intrinsically bitter edges have a tendency to fight sweetness, vinaigrettes, and heat spices). Moderately scaled Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc, on the other hand, can be lovely (not the big Alsatian vieilles vignes). For instance, recently we have been serving a beautifully crisp, fragrant, minerally and lithe Heger Pinot Gris from Germany's Baden region with great results with, say, Chinese style steamed white fish (in sizzling soy/peanut oil, ginger and cilantro). Currently our best selling white wine (period!) is a Pinot Gris 100% French barrel fermented for the creamy texture, not the oak flavor) for us by Rex Hill in Oregon -- the combination of acidity, floral/minerally spice and textural complexity is almost a guarantee with our fish in beurre blancs when infused with, say, Japanese seasonings, sea vegetable flavors, and slightly bitter Asian greens. The new fangled Pinot Blancs from both Germany and Oregon -- that is, those made from the true Pinot Noir mutations (not the broader, simpler Melons) -- offer similar focus, crispness and depth. Certain Savennieres (when not too earthy or acidic) have their appeal, but I can't wait for more petillant style Vouvrays to come out -- lively, spritzy qualities always do wonders with, say, wasabi spiked sauces.
Karena,truly: personally, I rarely find a dearth of choices by the glass to be a detriment. When in doubt, I say, order a bottle of a fresh, crisp, buoyantly flavorful and earth toned all-around red such as an Oregon Pinot Noir, a Chinon from the Loire, or a even a Washington St. Lemberger (or now, "Blue Franc") or Italian Teroldego. The red wines that (as David Rosengarten and Joshua Wesson are fond of saying) that "think their whites" are probably the single most versatile wines on the planet. You can do whole meals -- soup to nuts -- with such decent reds. Although some of the new international styles of whites -- i.e. Margaret River Chardonnays, barrel fermented Veneto whites (by Anselmi and Zenato), Umbrian Grechetto (Falesco), and the aforementioned Pinot family varietals -- are now coming up with as much depth and flavor interest to cross many food channels.
Almost makes you forget to reach for a good, handcrafted beer... not!
- Thomas - 03-17-1999
Randy,
I have done whole meals for my local American Wine Society group with Madeira. The wines run the dry to sweet range, and they each offer flavor nuances that match quite well with exotic flavors.
Give it a try.
Another good thing about Madeira is that you do not need a cruvinet to serve by the glass. The wines will last a long, long time even after the bottles are open.
- Thomas - 03-17-1999
Randy,
I have used Madeira to present whole meals for my local American Wine Society group. The wines run the dry to sweet range, and they each offer flavor nuances that match quite well with exotic flavors.
Give it a try.
Another good thing about Madeira is that you do not need a cruvinet to serve by the glass. The wines will last a long, long time even after the bottles are open.
- Randy Caparoso - 03-17-1999
Wow, foodie. Well, you know that most of our places (Hawaii, Scottsdale, Bonita Springs in Florida) are in warm climes, and so Madeira is not necessarily recommended. After a few you start to see double (saguaros, gators or hula dancers).
I suppose Madeira doesn't just cut through foods; it plows. My approach, as you might guess, is a little more gentle. For instance, one of our latest "discoveries" which we're awful proud to serve with spicier things (dishes with Thai, Japanese, Szechuan peppers and/or seasonings) is a Cremant de Limoux by Delmas -- a fairly light, off-dry half sparkler from the French South-West with delightfully frothy, yeasty/appley flavors and an easy, juicy feel. Besides, you can drink more of this kind of stuff.
- Randy Caparoso - 03-28-1999
Okay, folks. Like I said in the beginning of this thread, I'm a big mouth. But I'm still very interested in hearing about your Asian food/wine experiences. Good, new ideas are hard to come by.
Better yet, help me out by mentioning some of your experiences in Asian-influenced restaurants in your area. After all, our group of restaurants are moving into a lot of neighborhoods. We're already in Seattle, Pebble Beach, Scottsdale, New York City and Bonita Springs outside of Naples, FL. And soon to be in Newport Beach/CA, Cherry Creek/Denver, San Francisco and San Diego (all by this time next year). So give me some warning, willya!