Pairing wine with Asian food&nbsp;is a common dilemma. Just what should you order with the Spicy Yellowtail Yu Sheng or the Mongolian Lamb Chops? How do we make palatable choices that cross cultures and bring out the best in each location&rsquo;s use of herbs and spices?

Buddakan is an Asian restaurant that has merged the best of East and West to create an inviting space with an adventurous edge. This restaurant is well-known for culinary creations that present the exotic and vivid flavors of the Far East. &nbsp;The menu offers pan-Asian fare inspired by multiple traditions and favorites such as Dim sum, noodle soups, seafood and whole Peking duck, but what is truly representative of our modern global culture is the meeting of Asian cuisine with European decor, which is reminiscent of the elegance of Paris in the 16th century. The wood panels, ornate chandeliers and renaissance paintings offer elegance and comfort. This melding of cultures is represented in the partnership of an Asian menu and a carefully curated wine list that provides a fine selection of old-world and new-world wines.

Asian food was not originally paired with wine. Traditionally, Asian food was accompanied by sake and soju, wine made out of fermented rice kernels. The notes and effect of the wine on the food were vastly different from that of wine made from grapes. So, as we discovered a love of Asian food in the west, we wanted to match our new love with our old love -- wine.

Let&rsquo;s release the genie from the bottle and find the best wines to pair with Asian food. First of all, we need to recognize the herbs and spices used in the meal, we also need to consider how sweet or sour the dish is. These two factors play an important role in the choice we make.

With spicy Asian dishes, consider a sweeter, demi-sec or off-dry wine with decent acidity. At Buddakan, there are several aromatic dry whites on the wine list. The Trimbach Riesling

&#39;Cuv&eacute;e Fr&eacute;d&eacute;ric Emile&#39;, from Alsace, France is a great choice.

If you&rsquo;re hot for the Tea Smoked Spare Ribs on the menu, consider choosing a Zinfandel, this red wine has tannins that help cut the fat and work with the char flavor of barbecued ribs and the fruitiness of this grape enhances the spices.

Generally, lighter, dry reds that are low on tannins and snappy, clean, high-acid wines that bring a refreshing quality to the mouth are your best bet. Gewurztraminers and rieslings are usually a good choice. However, if there is a diverse range of meals on the table, why not bring a little effervescence to the table with some bubbles, because, can you ever go wrong with bubbles?

Spicy foods are often said to pair well with sweeter, typically white wines like a demi-sec Chenin Blanc, an off-dry Riesling, or crowd-favorite Moscato d&rsquo;Asti. And that&rsquo;s not entirely unfair: as long as the residual sugar levels are modest, and there&rsquo;s a decent acidity cutting through it all, a slightly sweet wine can arguably make a great pairing for spicy Asian food.

Learn more about pairing wine with Asian food in <a href="https://uat.corkrules.com/buddakan/episodes/12">six minutes on the CorkRules wine review podcast</a>.

Cheers!

&nbsp;

About the CorkRules Podcast:&nbsp;Each week we pour a glass and share top restaurant wine list picks, providing you with the knowledge to confidently navigate the wine list through sommelier recommendations, suggested food pairings and expert insights

About CorkRules:&nbsp;CorkRules, the first digital wine app experience, makes it easier for you to navigate the restaurant wine list, and provides you with personalized wine recommendations from your favorite restaurants. Through CorkRules you can find the perfect wine for every occasion based on your preferences. Connect with friends and wine experts to discover new wines to try and learn about wine. CorkRules makes it easier to discover and drink what you love. &nbsp;

Pairing wine with Asian food is a common dilemma. Just what should you order with the Spicy Yellowtail Yu Sheng or the Mongolian Lamb Chops? How do we make palatable choices that cross cultures and bring out the best in each location’s use of herbs and spices?

Pairing Wine with Asian Food at Buddakan

1803 is a Cajun restaurant that brings a little of New Orleans’ eclectic culture to the streets of New York. It’s a sexy, sultry space with a penchant for Deep South decadence and jazz. For a memorable culinary experience, this is the place to bring a date.

Pairing Wine with Cajun Food at 1803

Drops of God, the popular manga series by Tadashi Agi and Shu Okimoto, has been adapted into a television series by AppleTV and has some buzz in the wine world. The AppleTV series tells a story about a competition between Camille's (Fleur Geffrier) estranged daughter and Issei (Tomohisa Yamashita), the protégé after the death of Camille's father, a famous wine collector, to win his world-renowned wine collection valued at $100M+.

Drops of God: The AppleTV Series That Could Save the Wine Industry

Certified sommelier and CorkRules’ resident Somm, Michaela Quinlan shares her expertise on the wine list of il Buco. il Buco’s wine cellar holds a selection of over 400 wines and includes an exciting range of lesser-known, artisan wines from Europe. This restaurant has been called "one of the best and most exciting in America" by Gourmet magazine and the wine list has won Wine Spectator’s "Award of Excellence" several times.

Artisan Wines at Il Buco

Orange wine is made from white grapes, but the skin stays in contact with the juice longer during the maceration period, which increases the tannins and turns the normally white wine a more golden hue. The longer the contact,  the darker the hue, which increases the tannins and a stronger intensity. Pinot gris and malvasia are two common grape varieties used to make orange wine, but if you dig a little deeper, explore a little further, you can find some delightful orange wines along the border between northeastern Italy and Slovenia where orange wines are madefrom indigenous grapes on the region, including sauvignon vert (friulano), ribolla gialla, and pinot grigio.

Pairing Orange Wines at Pasquale Jones

The Lobster Club in the Seagram Building, New York City is a Japanese Brasserie that is renowned for its unique interpretation of Japanese cooking and Sushi, and what’s even more exciting is that it has an extensive wine list.

Fine Wines at The Lobster Club

Unless you are born into a vineyard, grow up in wine country, a career in wine is not a go-to profession for most graduates. But for some people, their love of wine and career path are intertwined. This is how it was for Jane Lopes, sommelier, co-founder of Legend Imports, and author of Vignette: Stories of Life and Wine in 100 Bottles.

Stories of Wine & Life with Jane Lopes, Sommelier, Author and Co-Founder of Legend Imports

CorkRules has been presented with the BMMA ‘Best New Mobile App” Platinum award, the highest award achievement in category.

CorkRules Wins the 2023 BMMA Platinum Award for "Best New Mobile App"

With the exception of sommeliers and vintners, for most of us who love wine, no matter how many bottles you drink in your lifetime, and no matter how delicious, you rarely think of the terroir, the grape, or the growing process as you drink it.

Chris Phelps on Wine and Life

Grant Wood, wine educator and certified sommelier, and Robert Tas review the delicious wine list at The Progress, a restaurant defined by the chef proprietors as: a vehicle for a completely local production. Innovative banquet-style meals served with memorable wines. 

Wine Review of the Progress, San Francisco

Grant Wood

The Progress

The Progress

RT: Hello and Welcome to CorkRules! 

A podcast where we review a wine list from your favorite restaurants. I&rsquo;m your host Robert Tas along with Grant Wood, wine educator and certified sommelier

Hello Grant, great to have you back for another great wine list.

GW: Hello Robert!

RT: Before we jump in, let&rsquo;s talk about CorkRules.

We created CorkRules to demystify wine lists because we know from experience, that sometimes wine lists can be intimidating, and even a little daunting.&nbsp;

Our aim is to help prepare you to navigate that list, find those hidden gems, value wines or that special bottle that will take your dining experience over the top.

&nbsp;RT: So, sit back and listen as we review your favorite wine list.

The Progress is part of the restaurant group behind State Bird Provisions and the Anchovy Bar in Sf and has a super passionate team that is dedicated to great, innovative food, fantastic cocktails and a very well-thought-out wine list. I&rsquo;m excited to take a look at what they have to offer as they&rsquo;re a favorite of mine in SF.

RT

Let&rsquo;s kick it off with some cocktails. I&rsquo;d go for the Last Voyage featuring Jamaican Rum, sesame, banana, almond and lime to be a nice way to ease into my evening but if you like something with a little more depth then go for the Alter Ego with Japanese whisky, lapsang, and amaro.

RT

There is a great BTG selection as well so I&rsquo;d go for the 2020 Hammerling Gamay/Pinot noir brut rose which is a really cool sparkling producer over in Berkeley doing a great job with bubbles. A fun white btg is the 2020 Maison des Ardoiseres Silice from Savoie in the Alpine eastern part of France making clean, crystalline whites like Jacquere that is always great value for buck. For an interesting red btg I&rsquo;d get a glass of the 2017 Stumpf Pinceszet Kekfrankos from Hungary which is medium to lighter body red that is really easy and fun to drink and definitely out of the box thinking.

Let&rsquo;s move on to by the bottle, shall we? For bubbles, I&rsquo;d go for the Pierre Peters Grand Cuvee de Reserve from Le-Mesnil sur Oger in Champagne. Piere Peters is an iconic grower producer that makes benchmark sparkling wine of distinction and age-worthiness. Another great option is 2016 Under the Wire sparkling pinot noir from Hirsch in Fort Ross Seaview. Under the Wire is the sparkling passion project from Chris and Morgan from Bedrock Wine Co. so of course, I must make a shout-out for this wine. It&rsquo;s very rare to see this wine anywhere so this is a great chance amazing domestic bubble.

Moving on to whites, I love the Orxite Sotelo &lsquo;Nebola&rsquo; from Monterey and is a blend of Arinto and Albarino which is super bright, fresh, and easy drinking and a great value. If you want to splurge a bit then the 2015 Dagueneau Silex from Loire&rsquo;s Pouilly-Fume is an iconic SB from a legendary producer and is packed with minerality, drive, and focus which is also a fun wine to play around with food pairings as well. I would also point out the 2018 Von Winning, Kalkofen GG from the Pfalz as another great wine to match with various courses on their menu as well.

There is a great selection of white burgundy and a lot of interesting wines from else ware as well but we don&rsquo;t have too much time to get into the other great options on this list.

On that note, let&rsquo;s move on to reds. There is a very good selection of California Pinot noir but one that stands out to me is the 2018 Radio-Coteau Direke vineyard on the Sonoma Coast which is an organically farmed hillside just off of the Bodega highway. This is a beautiful Pinot Noir with lots of structure, perfume, and lift in the glass and would be an ideal wine with food. If you&rsquo;re looking for Burgundy, though, then a great splurge would be the 2016 Bruno Clair 1er cru Clos du Fonteny from Gevery Chambertin. Talk about another benchmark producer from one fo my favorite villages in Burgundy. These wines are some of the best expressions of Pinot Noir in the world and are made with such distinction and care for a love of place.

For you Robert, I&rsquo;d go for the 2016 Brandini Resa 56 Barolo which is a fabulous year for Barolo and I love the wines of Brandini for the weight and intensity while still maintaining perfume and grace and a truly wines to be an extension of the table.

One other honorable mention for me is the 2018 Bucklin Ancient flied blend Zinfandel from Old Hill Ranch in Sonoma Valley. I think Will Bucklin is such a thoughtful grower and winemaker. His vineyard is one of the oldest vineyards in Sonoma planted around 1885 and these wines age beautifully as well.

Lastly, I&rsquo;d cap off my evening with a nice glass of Amaro Montenegro to serve as the perfect chef&rsquo;s kiss to a wonderful evening at the Progress.

Cheers!

Grant , Thank you so much for all your great suggestions and helping us navigate The Progress&rsquo; wine list. I can&rsquo;t wait to go try your great suggestions.&nbsp;&nbsp;

To our audience, thank you all for joining us here on CorkRules.

If you would like Grant to review one of your favorite restaurants, please send us email to: Info@CorkRules.com or visit our web website where we have a request form available and we will do our best to get it in the queue as quickly as possible.

We are looking forward to being with you on another CorkRules episode soon. In the meantime, please check out our website for other episodes of your favorite restaurant wine lists.

And finally, drink what you love and please make sure you drink responsibly.

Thank you.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

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Dear Annie

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Join us each week as we pour a glass and share top restaurant ‘wine list’ picks, providing you with the knowledge to confidently navigate the ‘wine list’ through somm recommendations, suggested food pairings and masterclass insights.

Tavern 4 & 5

Terrazas de los Andes

Altos del Plata - Malbec NV

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Washington, USA

South Island

Ranga Ranga Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand NV

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Santa Cristina

Pinot Grigio delle Venezie NV

Delle Venezie, Italy

Josh Cellars

Cabernet Sauvignon NV

California, USA

Murphy-Goode

Pinot Noir NV

California, USA

Benziger

Family Winery Merlot NV

Sonoma County, USA

Gooseneck Vineyards

Prosecco NV

Prosecco, Italy

Predator

Old Vine Zinfandel NV

Lodi, USA

William Hill

Central Coast Chardonnay NV

Central Coast, USA

D Esclans The Beach Rose Provence France NV

Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence, France

Louis M. Martini

Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon NV

Sonoma County, USA

Chemistry

Pinot Noir NV

Oregon, USA

Whitehaven

Sauvignon Blanc NV

Marlborough, New Zealand

Chehalem

Inox Unoaked Chardonnay NV

Willamette Valley, USA