Taste of Thai Review
Our Taste of Thai Table
Last month marked the launch of a project called Feast and Tweet. The goal of this event is to make it easy to gather around the table with friends to experiment with pairing food and wine together. We all meet up online at the same time to discuss the dishes and wines on our tables. The conversation covers how we like the dishes and the wines separately. Then, we get into how the wine and food pair with one another. Or, in some cases, how they don’t pair. It’s all part of the great experiment!
The Best of the Pairings
Shona of Woodinville Wine Update was very happy with the way the Northwest Totem Cellars Salish (a Riesling/Viognier blend) matched with Pad Thai.
Mortar and Pestle Prep for Papaya Salad
Brenda of Culinary Fool opened up a Hoodsport Winery Rhubarb wine to go with Pad Thai to find that the pairing rates higher than wine alone. She noted, “The wine cools the heat – a little but enough. The food makes the wine more flavorful.”
Bean of Washington State Wine and Beer tweeted, “The Tranche 2005 Pinot Gris is especially good with the Swimming Rama. Great pairing with the peanut sauce!”
Veena of Veena’s Market commented that Sula Chenin Blanc from India is great with the Thai chili in the Miang Kham (think lettuce wraps). Veena also expressed a deep affection for the Latah Creek Muscat, and how it is great with spicy Thai food.
Vivian Mycroft commented, “Chariot Gypsy was great with Shrimp Goya. Held up to Miang Kham.”
I also favored the Chariot Gypsy with Miang Kham and enjoyed the Tranche Pinot Gris very much when paired with Swimming Rhama.
How to Save a Bad Pairing
Thai Dishes at Feast and Tweet
Sadly, we also had some participants who just didn’t care for the wine they picked and found that it didn’t get better with their food. That’s just the way it is sometimes, though. Also, while we found the wines on our table paired quite well with one or two dishes, they didn’t pair with all the dishes. This in no way reflects poorly on the wine. It’s simply that although the food is representative of one cuisine, the flavor profiles of the various dishes are very different from one another.
Cindy of The Melting Teapot found that the Riesling she opened surprisingly did not pair well with her Thai food. See, just because something is a classic pairing on paper it doesn’t take into account the nuances of each wine and work flawlessly all the time. However, she then opened up a hard cider to discover a wonderful match. So, when you’re not happy with your pairing, just move on and try something else. We like your spirit, Cindy!
Also, Shona reminded us of this great tip for pairing spice with wine:
I think mild/medium spice pairs better with wine. Hot just gets amped by the alcohol. When pairing I go mild or medium.
If you want to take part in this fun food and wine pairing experiment, you can join us next Wednesday, October 27 for Flavors of India. Be among the first 20 to register and receive a free spice packet sample from Veena’s Market.
Related posts:
- An Experiment with Thai Food and Wine Pairings
- Everyday Thai Cooking
- EDI Inclusion Fusion Event Review
- NuCulinary Korean Pantry Class Review
- Kunde Taste Live
Tags: Chariot, Chenin blanc, Hard cider, Hoodsport winery, Latah creek, Northwest Totem Cellars, Pad Thai, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Salish, Sula, Swimming rama, Tranche
