Heres a great opportunity to break away from the norm. Throughout the month of April, BC Liquor Stores are featuring German wines, putting them front-and-centre to highlight their bright potential for food pairing, particularly with Asian cuisine, something thats super-appropriate for Vancouver.
In fact, while youre browsing one of the 60 BC Liquor Store locations participating in the promotion, make sure to pick up the small complementary booklet theyve put together for the occasion. Titled Perfect Pairings: Asian Flavours & German Wines, the booklet not only has a dozen affordable, widely-accessible wine recommendations, the Asian flavours run the whole gamut of sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami. The food-pairing guide was put together by Jeannie Cho Lee, a Hong Kong-based Master of Wine (the worlds first Asian to attain the qualification) and one of the worlds best-known wine personalities.
I could obviously lay out a bunch of Rieslings to point you toward this week, but I thought to shake things up a little by sharing the scoop on some less-common German wine styles. One more thing all 12 featured wines for the promotion will be open for sampling at the 39th and Cambie BC Liquor Store on Sunday, April 7 from 2 to 5pm a fun chance to broaden your German wine horizons.
Dr. Loosen Sparkling Riesling | Mosel Saar Ruwer, Germany | $18.99
Its not too often you see a sparkling Riesling, but its always welcome at my table. Lively and juicy, theres a host of apples and pears bursting out of the bottle. Something I find quite different from the normal Dr. L Riesling are distinct elements of lemon balm, turmeric and sage. The ripe acidity, fruitiness and herbal qualities make it ideal for creamy hot and sour Thai soups.
Heitlinger Baden Smooth Leaf Pinot Blanc | Baden, Germany | $17.99
My God, do I adore this wine! Cast away any misconceptions that Pinot Blanc is boring and dive into this opulent version, full of concentrated Bartlett pear, honeycomb and lemon curd. While fresh and crisp, theres a distinct beeswax-y texture and hint of residual sugar going on thatll have it standing up to spicier dishes with ease.
Palataia Pinot Grigio | Pfalz, Germany | $18.95
While it sounds Italian, this is as fresh-and-clean, Germanic-style as it gets! Mineral-driven and zesty, its a whole pile of lime rind, fresh-squeezed pink grapefruit and a few oyster shells in the mix, too! Shellfish, shellfish, shellfish.
Peter & Peter Pinot Noir | Pfalz, Germany | $18.99
Havent had a German red before? This is a good place to start. Their cool climate makes the country a suitable home for lofty, lighter reds, and thats exactly what you have here. This ones a glass full of the first cherries of the summer with a few plums and a nice little perfumed note on the nose. Tuck into Chinese take-out and pour liberally!
Heads up!
A pretty decadent wine dinner is on the horizon at Hys Encore featuring the wines of Rodney Strong, with winemaker Rick Sayre. Its at 6pm on April 11 for $135, with proceeds going to the BC Hospitality Foundation. A slew of Cabernets, steaks and hoopla to be had! More info via HysSteakhouse.com
