Ask a vintner about wines to accompany Asian food and he’s likely at first to wrinkle his nose. You can sense him about to say, "Shouldn’t you just have a yeasty beer?" This is in fact what I generally opt for in Asian restaurants, not known for having sommeliers on staff. However, the world is filled with wines to complement any food, and I was determined to find the right one for a summer night featuring summer rolls. These are what we came up with.
2004 Handley Gewurztraminer, $17.
The word gewurz means "spicy" in German. Though the Gewurztraminer grape’s best-known terroir is the Alsace region of France, near the German border, it also grows well in California’s northern Mendocino Valley, which has a similar climate. In Alsace, the dryness of the wine is what distinguishes the Gewurztraminers from their German cousins. The wine ferments longer, never in new oak, to reduce its residual sugar. What you /files/storyimages/up with, though, still has plenty of fruit flavor coming through. Our tasters picked up hints of apricot and grapefruit. Although the Handley label proclaims its wine to be "particularly compatible with spicy Asian cuisine," we all found that the pronounced fruit flavors of the Gewurztraminer were diluted by the spiciness of the cashew dipping sauce.
2004 Chateau d’Orschwihr Pinot Blanc Bollenberg, $15.
The Pinot Blanc grape’s most prominent growing area is also the Alsace region of France, and this particular bottle actually does come from there. Pinot Blancs are noted for their fresh and yeasty apple-like aroma, sometimes with hints of spice, particularly of clove. Because of Pinot Blanc’s high acidity, it does not age well over a long period of years but is often used in the making of sparkling wines. Perhaps that’s why this particular bottle reminded us so much of Champagne without the fizz. It’s easy to drink in the way of a nice, understated Chablis. One taster found it "just on the edge of mildew, in a tantalizing way," but said it lost this quality when paired with the Vietnamese food. The Pinot Blanc is a simple, inexpensive way to accompany Asian spiciness.
2005 Pierre Gimonnnet
& Fils Champagne Brut 1er Cru Blanc de Blancs, $42.
Blanc de blanc, of course, means "white from white," white wine from white grapes. The term originated in France’s Champagne region, where most Champagnes are made from a combination of the white Chardonnay grape and the red Pinot Noir grape. Blanc de blanc, in contrast, describes Champagne made entirely from Chardonnay. The word creamy appears over and over in descriptions of this Champagne, which has the beautiful color of pale straw and is almost overwhelmingly refreshing. We sensed pink grapefruit in it, as well as hints of tart apple and lime. It complements both the coolness of the herbs in the summer rolls and the heat of the spices in the dipping sauce. But it’s also the perfect sipping Champagne for every night of
the summer.
— MW
