Four Great Wines For Hot Pot

It was just last week that I was writing about drinking rosé wine this winter as it has been extremely mild and as sod’s law would have it, the temperature has fallen during and post Chinese New Year and here I find myself writing about a classic Cantonese winter dish, hot pot, and four of my favourite wines to go with it.

Hot pot is a great way to take a good three hours over dinner and is a winter warmer where all the food is cooked in flavoured soup and then spiced up with garlic, chili, soy sauce and scallion. In fact, you simply boil meat, seafood and vegetables in soup to give it some taste and the taste of the soup determines the flavour of the meats you dunk.

Personally, I have two favourite soups for hot pot – a tomato based soup with braised beef brisket and Sichuan style which is super spicy. I had a Sichuan hot pot in Shenzhen last month and the chili base for the soup was so spicy that the guy who mixed the soup had to wear disposable gloves! But the soups come in many forms from winter melon to plain chicken stock so you can take your pick next time you go.

In my local hot pot restaurant, which is a pretty high class one (by that I mean expensive!) many of the patrons drink wine with their hot pot. As many Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong do not see alcohol sales as an integral part of revenue, many of them do not charge corkage for the wine you bring so it’s a great way to be a) slightly more economical and b) drink the wines you want to drink and share with your friends from your cellar.

I myself am not particularly exciting when it comes to hot pot as I am more so a meat eater than a seafood eater. My regular dishes are beef, lamb, ostrich and prawns, but when out with friends there is always an array of scallop, fish balls, fish, crab, clams and a host of vegetables. The most extravagant I have been at a hot pot was at one in Mong Kok after work in the hotel almost a decade ago when I ordered camel hump, something that when cooked has the consistency of raw carrot and something I do not recommend you try!

There are four wines though that I think go with hot pot and wines that I like to drink with the meal. In fact, as hot pot is such an array of flavours it is nigh on impossible to pair wines with the meal but, as common wisdom depicts, there are no bad pairings, especially when with friends, but there certainly are bad wines that should not be drunk with hot pot, and arguably should not be drunk at all!

My four of choice are two from America and two from Greece. There is of course one white wine to go with the seafood and my preference this winter is a Sauvignon Blanc from Calistoga Cellars in Napa Valley. It’s a nice, crisp and refreshing Sauvignon Blanc that has a little backbone but is more citrus than tropical fruit so the acidity of the wine pairs nicely with the gently cooked seafood and contrasts the spice in a spicy hot pot very well.

A rosé that I find works well with hot pot and, indeed, well with Asian food in general is from Greece and from the Kir-Yianni Estate in Northwestern Greece. It is made up from 100 per cent Xinomavro and is called Akakies. The wine has nice strawberry nuances and is better paired with the tomato based soups and best kept away from super spicy food as this one I found is not a keen fan of chili. It needs food as it’s a big wine and I find that the pairing of thinly sliced Angus beef, briefly braised in the tomato soup is a great pairing for this wine.

My first choice red is from the Mayacamas mountains of California and is called Two Angels Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s a great meat wine and actually is not one of those big brash American Cabernet’s, it has a little style and finesse to it lending some notes of vanilla and chocolate. I thought it was a great overall accompaniment to the meaty choices I had for hot pot and, as my father in law will attest to, one that can be drunk alone without food very easily.

Finally, I am loving the Greek red wine Ramnista from Kir-Yianni Estate and again made up from the Xinomavro grape. It was, when I first tried it, described as “the best Greek wine I have ever tried” and this still reigns true this day. Although I think the wine is best suited to meats cooked medium to medium rare, if you are delicate enough with the cooking and you order decent cuts of beef (and don’t boil it to death), then there are some excellent flavour pairings with this wine.

As we see the Mercury hover around the late teens (Centigrade) it’s that time of year where it feels colder in the house than it actually is outside. This is because we have no heating or insulation on our buildings here – in fact, they are designed to let the heat out due to our hot summers. So, if you are at home, crack on with a hot pot in the house, call some friends round, everyone bring a bottle and then have a blast. Failing that, head out to one of the numerous hot pot restaurants around town, take a bottle and sit down in the warmth with a few good friends and a few good wines.

Calistoga Cellars Sauvignon Blanc and Two Angels Cabernet Sauvignon are available from www.open3wines.com

Greek wines Kir-Yianni Rosé and the Xinomavro Red are available from www.olivetreehk.com