At this time of year, I barely have time to grocery shop, let alone cook. You’re more likely to find me making the rounds of some of my favourite take out joints.
Asian cuisine is a given with Chinese winning out when I’m famished and Japanese when I’m pretending to be healthy. I crave Indian when I really want to warm up and Thai when I desire an explosion of flavour.
When I start to get bored, I shake things up with Mexican fare. And if I am inviting friends over, it’s Memphis Blues BBQ.
In terms of wine, I always have something sparkling in the fridge. It makes the meal feel more celebratory than last resort. I open Cava when I am broke and Champagne if I’m flush. Both work so well with sushi too.
Most takeout cuisine tends to be boldly flavoured so I look for equally assertive wines. Aromatic whites like Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Viognier, Torrontés, and Albariño possess pungent aromas and persistent flavours that will stand up to exotic dishes. With extremely spicy food, watch out for higher alcohol wines as the spicy heat will accentuate the alcohol burn. Instead, a low alcohol wine with a little sweetness is a much better foil. Think off to medium-dry Riesling.
While whites generally work best, the chilly weather may have you craving red. Lighter, fruity wines with low tannin such as Pinot Noir, Beaujolais/Gamay and Valpolicella are the most compatible. But when only a big bold red will do, I opt to eat barbecue or Indian. Even with these, the soft, supple tannin of a Zinfandel, Shiraz, or Merlot is preferred to more mouth-drying reds.
Just make sure you always have plenty of wine options on hand. It will save you a trip to the wine store when you are rushing home to dig in.
2012 Domaine Wachau Terraces • Grüner Veltliner, Wachau, Austria • $17.99, BC Liquor Stores
With lime, white pepper, and anise notes, this dry white is bright and vibrant enough to stand up to the assertive favours in Japanese food, but delicate enough not to overwhelm sashimi.
Corvezzo Ikaro Raboso Spumante Dry • IGT Delle Venezie, Italy • $19.99, BC Liquor Stores
It’s red, it’s sparkling, and it has a touch of sweetness. This may sound odd but it totally works. The natural bitterness in the Raboso grape balances out the residual sugar while the bubbles scrub out the mouth between bites. I’ll be cracking this the next time I order ginger beef and chicken fried rice.
2012 Tabalí Reserva Pinot Noir • Limarí, Chile • $19.99, BC Liquor Stores
Soft, light tannin with pure cherry and strawberry fruit make this Pinot exceptionally food friendly. My go-to when I’m looking for a red with Chinese or Indian food.
2012 Balthazar Ress Hattenheimer Schützenhaus Riesling Kabinett • Rheingau, Germany • $24.99, BC Liquor Stores
Yes there’s some sweetness here but it’s so beautifully balanced by spine tingling acidity. And along with modest alcohol (8.5 per cent), it is the ideal solution for hot Thai cuisine, as well as spicy fish tacos.
2012 Ridge Three Valleys • Sonoma County, California • $37.99, BC Liquor Stores
Just because it’s takeout, doesn’t mean you can’t splurge a bit. This full-bodied, fruit forward Zinfandel-based red is perfect with barbecued ribs. It’s also a surprisingly great match with the exotic spices in Indian dishes.
