By Teo Pau Lin, 04 November 2005
The Straits Times

Take along some wine to the kopitiam the next time you order chicken rice.

IT'S official: Sauvignon blanc goes well with chicken rice, pinot gris with satay and sparkling shiraz with roast pork.

The question of how to match wines with local food was answered last week at the Wine Style Asia Awards.

Organised as part of the third annual Wine For Asia event, the awards honoured nine wine labels for being the best tipple to go with seven of Singapore's favourites dishes (see box).

They were chosen from 115 gold, silver and bronze medal winners recognised for overall excellence this year.

The awards are into their second year, but this is the first time that they have introduced this local food pairing category.

'Except for a few countries, Asia does not produce its own wine. So we want to pull in Western wines and show that they can be matched with local cuisine,' says Wine For Asia's co-organiser, Mr Malcolm Tham, a Singaporean wine consultant.

The three-day trade exhibition, where international wine makers, exporters, distributors and retailers gather to market wines to Asia, will be held at the Singapore Expo from next Thursday to Saturday. It will be open to the public on the last day.

This year, 350 wine labels from more than 20 countries took part in the awards. Of these, 70 per cent were submitted by overseas wine producers and the rest by local distributors.

Its international panel of judges included seven wine experts, writers and publishers from Australia, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and the United States.

'We wanted the panel to include as many nationalities as possible, so the results will have an international consensus,' says Mr Tham.

It has always been a challenge to pair wine with local food as Asian spices are often robust, and tend to overpower the wines, he notes.

Also, the alcohol content of wines accentuates the spiciness of a dish, making a hot dish even hotter.

During the judging process, which took place at The Hollandse Club in Camden Road last Wednesday, the dish that posed the greatest challenge was black pepper crab, says Mr Tham.

Not only was it spicy, its black pepper grains also gave a pungent kick.

In the end, the judges chose the Zambujeiro 2002, a full-bodied red wine from Portugal that could stand up to the dish's strong character; as well as the Jeremiah One 2004, an Australian white wine with a tinge of sweetness that complements the crab.

The awards are scheduled to be a yearly event, so Singaporeans will be shown more wines to match their favourite local dishes, says Mr Tham.

Wine For Asia
Hall 4 of the Singapore Expo
It will be open to the public next Saturday. Tickets at $15 per person at the door.
Call 9138-2078 for enquiries.