Pairing Sherry and Chinese Food

Sherry is often a misunderstood wine as it’s normally associated with your Grandmother and the first image that everyone gets when you mention the word sherry is a blue bottle of Harvey’s Bristol Cream that’s either been sitting in your mum’s liquor cabinet for a decade, or sitting on the back of the bar you frequent gathering dust.

I have to admit that Sherry is something I drink infrequently but every time I do, I find myself questioning as to why I don’t drink it more often. I think a lot of fear towards drinking fortified wines stems from a lack of knowledge of the product itself, something I am not ashamed to put my hand up and admit to. So, given the chance last night to have a series of Sherries with sherry house Lustau’s export manager Ignacio Lopez de Carrizosa paired with Michelin Starred food at the Lanham Place hotel’s Ming Court, I jumped at the opportunity to give it a try.

Now, I would really love to explain more about the history of sherry, its production methods and more (I will do that for you next week) but for the purposes of this story, I want to tell you how the various styles of sherry paired with the varying styles of food dishes that were served over dinner and maybe inspire you to give it a try for yourself – then next week we can learn a little more about the product you most likely really enjoyed over dinner.

The Lustau winery itself was founded in 1896 by Don Jose Ruiz-Berdejo and, after humble beginnings, in 1940, the winery was moved by his son in law Don Emilio Lustau Ortega to the Santiago district in the old quarter of Jerez – the origin of Sherry in Spain. Over time the philosophy of the company has not changed and it is thus: to pursue the best quality in its wines and to offer the market the largest range of Sherries. In fact, Lustau makes over 30 different kinds of Sherries from three different regions within Jerez, all with their own subtle, different characteristics.

Dinner started with an aperitif of Lustau Manzanilla Papirusa Sherry Solera Reserva (made from 100 per cent Palomino Fino) which was pale yellow in colour, much like a normal white wine colour, and had a distinctive minerality and saline taste on the palate. It almost tasted to me like when you bite into a fresh apple that’s not 100 per cent ripe, the fantastic flavours are there and there is a bit of bite from the acidity. This wine goes very well with light spice and paired nicely with the sliced pork and XO sauce amuse bouche.

The Lustau Puerto Fino Sherry paired with the shredded chicken in ginger was mouthwateringly good and the pairing was fantastic. You have to give chef at Ming Court credit as the food pairings, set up by sommelier and “wine guy” Zachary Yu, were phenomenal. This sherry was also paired with a deep fried scallop with pear, accompanied by pan fried crab meat with cheese and again, the food and wine pairing was a delight. These flavours do not often find their way onto your palate at a normal meal so everything was rather enlightening.

Next up was the Lustau Dry Amontillado Los Arcos Reserva which Zachary paired with the crisp baby pigeon and I must say it was beautiful. The pigeon was cooked to perfection and was juicy and succulent whilst the sherry, a beautiful caramel colour was nutty and smoky and went exceptionally well with the subtle spice flavours and the fat on the pigeon. This was one of the stand out pairings of the night for me and, although my preference for Sherry begins at a rather higher level of sweetness I found this one to be most delicious.

The Lustau Dry Oloroso Don Nuno Reserva was served with a braised pork shank that was flavoured with salty fish which normally I would scoff at but I found the fish flavour was not there, instead the salt of the salty fish added an extra dimension of flavour to the dish. This made the pairing very nice as the Oloroso had loads of savoury and almond characters to it with an intense and concentrated finish, something that most certainly worked with the pork. I can imagine this style of sherry being great for game meats too and would have worked well with the pigeon dish I reckon too.

All Chinese meals have a vegetable dish as standard and last night’s was steamed eggplant with pickled brassica pith (part of the mustard family) which was paired with Lustau VORS 30 Year Old Palo Cortado, a wine made by accident when the flor (the lees seal on the fermentation tank) breaks and allows for oxidation of the wine. This is not a common practice meaning these wines are extremely rare and in very low production.  “These wines need aging”, says Ignacio. “So you won’t find a 10 year old Palo Cortado”. The wine was fine and complex and beautifully structured but as for the pairing I cannot comment as I am not an eggplant fan!

Then came possibly the wine of the night for me!! The East India Solera Sherry absolutely rocked my world and I just could not get enough of it. My tasting notes just say “SO GOOD!” which most likely means off dry to medium sweet with molasses flavours. This was paired with a delightful fried rice with beef and black truffle and the pairing of truffle with the sweetness of the sherry was divine. This is one Sherry I am most certainly buying up a few bottles of and enjoying in front of the football on TV next weekend. The wine is a Palomino but it has been sweetened with Pedro Ximenez, a grape commonly used in the production of super-sweet Sherries.

Which brings us to our final sherry and dessert – both of which had everyone at the table gasping in amazement. Baked sago pudding is normally served with lotus bean in the centre but this time, for the sake of ‘westernising’ the dish it was stuffed with melted chocolate and it was exceptional – that’s really something coming from someone who does not eat dessert and is not a chocolate fan! The Lustau VORS 30 Year Old Pedro Ximenez was jaw-droppingly sweet, unctuous and hands down one of the best PX’s I have ever had. Thick, sweet and viscous, this was dark and thick and super sweet with flavours of figs, dates and raisins. The finish was relentless and the cleanliness on the palate was something to marvel.

In all, it was an exceptional experiment to be a part of and showed how Sherries do have their place at the dinner table and how, if served by the glass in high class establishments such as Ming Court, we may just get people to experience the delights of sherry and Chinese food. It also proves that sherry is not just for old ladies and is a universal wine that can suit all types of drinkers. For me, I see the Spanish Palomino grape not unlike my favourite grape, Riesling, as its depth and range of flavours is hugely versatile. Give a sherry a go next time you are out for dinner and you may just end up being more than just pleasantly surprised.

Lustau Sherry is available from ASC Fine Wines in Hong Kong (www.asc-wines.com) and if you want to learn more about sherry, tonight Lustau is doing a tutored tasting at Eddie McDougall’s Flying Winemaker Shop in Lan Kwai Fong, for more information go to: http://www.flyingwinemaker.asia/Events/Decanter-Feature-Tastings