Palate, one of Singapore’s premier dining rewards programmes, hosted one of their wine-paring dinners at the Moluccas Room two weeks ago. The “Flavours of Spring” dinner gave me the perfect opportunity to try some fantastic Indonesian cuisine with wine.

Much has been written about pairing local food with wine – how to handle the spice, what to do with the sugar, and a plethora of other do and don’ts. Now this has been an area of particular interest to me and an area where my personal experiments have had varying degrees of success. As such, I was excited to try someone else’s take on this new, exciting challenge.

After an amuse bouche with a delightful, refreshing sparkling cocktail the dinner started. Kerang Rendang Jeruk Bali paired with a glass of Henschke Julius Riesling ’07. Kerang Rendang Jeruk Bali I soon discovered is grilled scallops with rendang and pomelo salad. The wine, I’m surprised to say, was completely dry with very high acid and a lot of spice. Almost all of the wines, in fact, were dry in style.

Next we had a lovely shrimp cocktail – Cocktail Salada Udang – paired with Shaw and Smith Sauvignon Blanc ’11. This course opened my eyes to the possibilities of new and exciting food pairings. Presented beautifully, the wine and food married quite nicely to, as one always hopes, create something greater than the whole.

The next course brought Hugel Gewurztraminer ’10, the first wine with any sweetness in it, but still mostly dry. A very spicy wine with some weight to throw around matched Daging Kambing Lumpia Goreng Belado or a lamb spring role. I finally found the chilli I’d been looking for in the other dishes (sitting in a little dish on the table for me to add at my pleasure… sigh). Much to my pleasant surprise the extra heat and the spice in the wine kicked everything up a notch. The flavours – so different, so wonderful – truly showed through this course.

Returning to seafood, Salmon Garing Colo Colo, as it turns out is not cola cola as I had first heard. Seared Salmon with spicy arugula and fermented soya bean salad tangled with our first red of the night, Nautilus Estate Pinot Noir ’09. Being a primarily red wine drinker and loving pinot, I was happy to see some garnet on the table. The very fatty salmon worked well with the earthy notes in the wine.

I had a chance to ask the chef, Alicia Tivey, who also made the wine pairings, how she determined what to pair with what. She prefer’s Australia and New Zealand to the old world, and she wanted something that could handle the spice, hence the often dry spicy whites. It’s definitely something to think about.

In addition to the dinner, Palate sponsored a lucky draw for one lucky guest. Chef Alicia Tivey will be making dinner for 10 at one Palate member’s home.

Finally, for desert, Michele Chiarlo Nivole Moscto d’ Asti ’10 and Moluccas Luwak Istimewa or a homemade almond macaroon – a delightfully sweet and refreshing end to a delicious night of something new!

For More information about Palate, visit them at Palate.sg.

Edit 9-5-12: Palate is a dining rewards programme, not a dining club.

Photo Credit: Palate

Unfortunately for Singapore, properly storing wine can be difficult in this climate. I’m still waiting for the government to put Singapore in a big bubble and air con the whole thing. Still, for the best of wines you must store them, usually for a good long while. Winemaker Christophe Perrot-Minot of Domaine Perrot-Minot suggests this is the only course of action with his finest wines – any of his wines, really.

Domaine Perrot-Minot controls roughly 13 hectares of wine and makes roughly 65 thousand bottles a year. Notably they sell the vast majority of their wines in over 40 different countries. They’ve been in Singapore for eleven years now. Needless to say, they control a recognized brand of premium Burgundies. Last week I tasted four of his wines, two villages, one premier cru, and one grand cru.

To start us off, Morey St Denis ‘en la Rue de Vergy’ ’09 – this wine blends high acidity with excellent intensity soft tannins and soft, fresh cherries. Mr. Perrot-Minot walked us through the tasting. ’09 was a famous vintage with a long hot summer that should produce some incredible wines, notable for their high acidity.

The second wine of the night, simply Chambolle-Musigny ’09 started with similar intensity but really opened on the palate. A higher concentration of fruit and more tannin make for a wine that should age very nicely. And a wine that really needs to age – the tannin is almost too much to handle young.

Our third wine, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Combe d’ Orveau ’09, stepped up to a new level. The difference in quality between the first two and the third and fourth was distinct. This wine, still very closed, displayed clean mild tannins, intense concentration with distinct balance and a lingering finish.

Last of all, the grand daddy - Mazis-Chambertin Grand Crú ’09. Again, a beautiful wine with very high acidity leading to a impeccably balanced, intense, finish. Put this one away, and don’t touch it for ten years.

Our host for the night, Verre, served some delightful canapés to go with our wine – cheese tarts and salmon crackers. And then a beautiful pastry tower for desert.

All in all, a fantastic tasting, but, as the winemaker said, I wouldn’t touch these wines for a few years. It would be a waste of money. These wine’s won’t display their best characteristics for a long time yet, and the tannins need some time to mellow out – while fine and smooth on the tongue they’re still young, sharp and bitter – let them age.

I know I’m supposed to talk about wine, but you’ll have to forgive me if I talk about food for a little bit. I love food – in all its beautiful wonderful aspects, the consumption, the production, everything. At World Gourmet Summit’s Citibank Gastronomic Jam Session I had a chance to watch two master chefs do what they do best – make food.

Michel Sarran from the two Michelin Star restaurant of his namesake, and Anatoly Komm from Varvary staged for a live audience. Now I often think, in foolish hubris, that I could recreate a dish from one of Singapore’s top restaurants. How very foolish I am. Would you use a professional paint sprayer in your culinary experiments?

Anatoly Komm used just such a sprayer to create beetroot paper for a traditional Russian dish, dressed herring or herring under a fur coat. His take? Wrap it all up with beetroot paper (created using said professional paint sprayer) to create a herring roll. His second dish, Russian Salad, was a little more traditional – still, I doubt I could make it at home.

Michel Sarran only created one dish, one, even, I could make at home… when I become a billionaire. Truffle breakfast starts with whole black truffles. Add those truffles to yogurt and port marmalade (an entire bottle of port reduced into a few tablespoons) and one of the strangest coffees I’ve ever seen and you have it. As for the coffee… well it’s chicken coffee – he used a base of chicken bouillon, espresso, and a few other treats to create something that must be unique. It looks delicious, but then who doesn’t love truffles?

The entire experience was fascinating to watch. And it made it clear just how far I have to go before I’ll be creating such culinary delights in my own kitchen. Perhaps my next culinary adventure will include a trip to the hardware store.

Marlborough. Pinot Noir. Done and done, right? Well yes, and no. Last night I tasted several wines from the premium winery, Highfield Estate. Derek Johnson, the sales and marketing manager for the estate, was in town to show off some of their best wines with the guys from Equatorial Wines. As all good wine tasting start with a bottle of bubbles, he poured their Elstree Cuvee Brut ‘07 to get the night started.

Now the story goes that two businessmen working in Asia would drink Champagne together whenever they met up. Some claim they would enjoy a glass each. Others, several bottles. Either way, they somehow convinced the wine maker at Drappier to give them the recipe, without the requisite dosage. Highfield has been using this recipe ever since, or so the story goes. Fictionalized or not, the Elstree Cuvee Brut ’07 is rich and creamy - velvety even - every drop delicious. 

Having wet our appetite, Derek launched into the whites and reds. We started with their second label, The Highfield Paua Sauvignon ’11. Now, usually people pass a quick glance over their wine before tipping it back. I don’t blame them. While wine is beautiful, I would rather pour it down my throat than drink it. I’ll make an exception for all of Highfield’s white wines- clear, nearly water, with flecks of gold and lemon swimming in the glass.

Highfield handpicks and selects all their grapes. Then they make their wines with free run juice, only. Free run juice means that all the juice extracted comes from the weight of the grapes on themselves. The grapes aren’t pressed, crushed, mangled, or otherwise bullied into giving up their liquid gold. This makes for a pristine, clean delicate palate on the eye. In the mouth, lots of acid balance out a dry lemony orange tasting delight.

After trying the Paua we moved onto their first label, simply Highfield’s. The Sauvignon Blanc ’10 expresses that same shimmering oasis for the eyes. The wine itself poises itself better, as you would expect from the older brother (sister?). It displays a little less body, less acid, and finer floral and earthy notes. Over all it’s a better-integrated, smoother wine.

Next on our list, the Highfield Pinot Noir ’08, surprised me a lot. The nose is all oak and forest floor and burnt wood, almost no fruit. And then you drink it. The fruit comes out in this subtle expressive manner with really nice well-integrated tannins and a long luxurious slow finish. Don’t get me wrong, the oaky smoky flavours are there, but nothing like what you would expect after nosing it. 

Last but not least, we tried the Highfield Riesling ’10. This wine is unique. I’ve never quite had anything like it. Coming in at a little over 30g/l you would expect this to be a really sweet wine, and it is. My first sip was a sugar bomb, one a little bit bigger than I could handle. And then you move it around your mouth. This mouthwatering acidity comes out and somehow it balances out by the time it hits the back of your throat. Fun!

Overall, I enjoyed these wines a great deal. They all display a poise, a balance, and an integration you can rarely expect from a full range of wine. The Paua, their second label, even stands nicely alongside some fantastic wines. Did I mention the price? Going into this tasting blind, I was expecting some top dollar wines, especially after trying them. Now they’re not cheap by any means, but with all the wines coming it at under $60, this young wino knows a deal when he sees it. 

I have a tendency to go on varietal kicks. I’ll have a bottle of something and fall in love with it. And I’ll want to drink nothing but that variety for a while. I admit, I’m currently in a pinot kick. A few years ago I was in malbec kick.

In the US malbecs are cheap; you have a wide variety to choose from; and generally speaking they’re not bad. For a college student it’s an almost unbeatable choice. Since then, however, I’ve had a falling out with malbecs. I realized that for a few more dollars other varietals were giving me much better bang for my buck than malbecs of a similar price. In Singapore I found this doubly true.

And then, a few days ago, I went to a Dominio del Plata tasting. I rediscovered malbecs. I fell in love with malbecs all over again. I’m getting ahead of myself, however; let’s rewind.

Dominio del Plata by Susana Balbo nestles into the Mendoza region of Argentina. Jullien Bonnard, our guide, started his lesson with Argentina – the grapes, the history, the landscape and climate – everything a wino needs to know about Argentina. Excellent, most of us are more familiar with Australia, Europe, or America.

We started the night with the Crios de Susana Balbo Torrontés ’11. A lovely wine to start the night – not too heavy, dry and acidic. Floral on the nose with a hint of spice, maybe cloves. To me, it’s a quick wine, a ready drink on a hot day.

And then we moved onto the malbecs. Our first was the Crios de Susana Balbo Malbec ’10. This wine is beautiful to look upon – all the wines of the night were. It almost glows a deep, rich, velvety crimson. It’s light, quite refreshing, but it didn’t stir that old found love for malbecs.

Our next wine, the Susana Balbo Malbec ’09, stirred that long forgotten passion for malbecs. It smelled like butter, rich, creamy, inviting. It tasted clean, a touch sweeter than I expected, but mellow and refined.

And then, the Nosotros Malbec ’08. I came back to an old, long forgotten, lover. This wine is beautiful. Refined, elegant, definitely feminine; she starts with even more luscious butter on the nose and those spices from the Torrontés. She tastes delightful, mellow and clean and warm. She left me with smiling lips and a warm gut.

Thank you, Susana Balbo, for bringing me back to malbecs.

At 4:45 AM my girlfriend called to make sure I wouldn't miss my flight to Hong Kong.  I have a history of trouble with flights, especially in and out of Hong Kong.  I hastily threw on closes and packed two bottles of champagne into a backpack.  Sufficiently armed, I headed to Hong kong for New Year's Eve. 

I arrived, collected my champagne, and was on a train within a short hour. Within another I had met my friend, joining me on this intrepid adventure, and checked into my “hotel” room at Hong Kong Hostel in Causeway Bay. To my pleasant surprise, they had upgraded us from a dorm room into a twin room. Alas, I would have little opportunity to put it to use.

My Friend and I killed a few hourss taking advantage of Hong Kon's malls and restaurants and took the opportunity to open our first bottle of champagne, Henri Giraud's Esprit Rose.  What a fine champagne that is - surprisingly full-bidoed an dry - it set the tone for the rest of the night: classy and exciting.

Dinner consisted of pizza, pork ribs, nondescript fried noodles, and of course fried rice. The bubbles brought the class – the cheap brought the friends.  Having sufficiently prepared for the night the lot of us headed to our first stop, another friend’s apartment, overlooking the entire Hong Kong skyline!

Some twenty odd twenty somethings had gathered to bring in the New Year the only way we know how. Good friends, plenty of booze, and a good view. Everyone felt quite lively by the time the count down started. The group of us raised glasses and I popped our second bottle, Henri Giraud’s Esprit Blanc de Blanc – crisp, light, perfect. As a first drink for the New Year, I couldn’t ask for anything better. Everyone cheered, clinked, celebrated! Fire works and an incredible view played in the background to our jubilation.

With the night and the year young our crew ventured to the bars to celebrate with the rest of Hong Kong. And packed they were, nothing brings people out like a proper celebration. At this point the night and the group dissolves into a blurred hustle of dancing, new friends, drinks, and sporadic euphoria.

Come about 3:30AM it was time to head to the airport. I had a flight back to Singapore to catch. Beat up, exhausted, a little more than drunk, but ecstatic and alive I stumbled onto my flight back to Singapore.

I was asleep before the plane took off.

I’ll be the first to admit that my knowledge of Italian wines is limited. So I leaped at the chance to go to a master’s class on some Italian wines. And Taberna Wine Bar makes for an excellent setting. The tasting was co-taught by Sonia Canfora, Castellare di Castellina’s marketing director, and Ying Hsien Tan, the owner of Taberna.

We started the tasting with three reds from Rocca di Frassinello in Moremma, Italy. This estate represents the first joint venture between Italian and French wine makers, Castellare di Castellina and Baron de Rothschild. We tried the 2008 Poggio Alla Guardia first, Frassinello’s entry-level wine. Following came the 2006 Le Sughere di Frassinello, and finally the 2006 Rocca di Frassinello.

All three wines are blends of Sangioveto, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The percentage of Sangioveto goes up with the quality of the wine, 65% in the Rocca Frassinello, 50% in the Sughere di Frassinello, and 15% in the Poggio Alla Guardia. Sangioveto, I learned, is the original clone upon which all other Sangiovese clones are based. My favorite was the Le Sughere di Frassinello – a little cleaner than the Poggio and a little more drinkable than the Rocca Frassinello – granted a few years will do them all good.

The next five wines, also from the Castellare di Castellina, are unique. Several major Italian fashion designers were asked to create a label and pick a wine varietal. Wines were created, all priced the same, for each of the fashion designers (Carolina Marengo, Missoni, Versace, and Valentino).

Carolina Marengo has two wines, a white, Il Grillo Carolina Morengo and a red, Frappato Carolina Morengo. As someone who normally favours red wine, I loved the 2007 Il Grillo Carolina Morengo. A touch sweet, nicely round – this wine is quite nice by itself but should pair well with a variety of foods, especially something tart.

The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Missoni surprised me with its lightness, especially considering it’s 100% cab. The 2007 Frappato Carolina Marengo, had a lovely nose, but petered out a little earlier than I wanted. The 2007 Nero D’Avola Versace, my favorite, came through strong on the nose and finished nicely – fine tannins with a lovely mouth feel. The 2007 Merlot Valentino was probably the smoothest wine, but lacked the presence of some of the others.

All in all, it was a fantastic and interesting tasting. If you’re looking for something unusual the Il Grillo Carolina Marengo fits the bill. The Grillo varietal can commonly be found in Italian blends, but very rarely by itself. And I enjoyed it immensely.

(Singapore) I have drunk some unconscionably bad wines in my time. I was a college student in the United States for four years – it goes with the territory.  

Just because the wine was bad, doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy drinking it immensely. I have fond memories of sipping wine straight from the bottle sitting on a roof in college – it wouldn’t have been the same without that three-dollar bottle of wine I bought at the gas station earlier that night.

Recently I had another, similar experience. I’ve spent the past few weeks wandering through India and Nepal.  Anyone who’s been to India knows it can be difficult to find good wine. The old staple, Sula, home grown and bottled in India leaves a lot to be desired, especially the sparkling.  Still, it’s often the only thing available. I’ll not let its taste or quality distract me from the fact that I’m in India, sipping wine and enjoying my parents company on the first trip to Asia. How could I?

And that brings me to a slightly better wine and an unforgettable experience. Nepal is stunning. I’m fond of the phrase “stupid beautiful”. I found myself sitting at a little guesthouse overlooking the Himalayas on a somewhat cold night. The power was out, candles were lit, and I had indulged in a USD four-dollar dinner (that’s splurging in Nepal). The night needed something… wine. And lo, they had wine on the menu.

I ended up ordering Andimar’s Mediterranean Style red wine (I had a choice between sweet red, and this one). How this Spanish table wine ended up in Nepal is beyond me, but it was exactly what I wanted.

I drank my bottle while reading and talking to a fellow traveller I’d just met. The wine filled the last little requirement elevating my night into something unforgettable. The simple act of drinking that red fermented fruit, not the quality, not the taste, not the label, made the night.

Don’t get me wrong, that first growth ’89 Bordeaux you have hidden in the cellar – it’ll be magnificent. Still, don’t let the wine distract you from what’s really important.

Let it elevate the night to something even greater.

I was greeted at the door with a glass of bubbles, always a good start. Sitting before me were five glasses of red wine, all deep purple and red. Mr. Jean-Phillipe Guillot, the Asia Regional Manager for Bernard Magrez, introduced himself and made small talk before the class began. When everyone was in the room, he started with the history of Bernard Magrez, a French wine merchant and property tycoon.

Bernard Magrez owns 37 vineyards around the world, 26 in France. In Bordeaux alone he owns 19. For our tasting today we would be trying two of his vineyards, Château La Tour Carnet and Chateau Pape Clément. Château La Tour Carnet is classified as Quatriemes Crus (fourth growth) in the Bordeaux wine classification of 1855. Chateau Pape Clément is classified Premiers Crus in the Classification de Graves of 1959. These are some fine French wines.

We started with Legende de La Tour Carnet ‘04, the vineyards second wine. This is a beautiful, light drinking wine. The nose hits you immediately. The more subtle notes remind me of cinnamon and wood smoke. With my first sip, I was in love. The structure is not too big, and the tannins are just right. Definitely my favorite wine of the tasting!

We moved onto Chateau Pape Clément’s second wine, Les Cles de Pape Clément ‘08. Again, this wine is drinking now and I found it very nice. The fruit notes come a little stronger, but the wine itself is lighter than the first.

Next came the big boys of the tasting, a ’04 and 06’ from Chateau Pape Clément and a ’06 from Chateau La Tour Carnet. The La Tour Carnet had some nice spice to it, something I wasn’t expecting. And it’s big, very big. The Pape Clément, a little softer, a little subtler, pleased me more. I found it a very clean wine. Now, Despite Mr. Guillot’s claim that the ’06s are drinking now, or are beginning to drink, I think they still need a few years. Give ‘em some time and they’ll come into their own, stunningly so.