Sometimes You Have to Throw in the Towel
Recently in Hong Kong, I attended one of those big pomp and circumstance dinners for the Jurade de Saint Emilion, the French appellation’s vinous brotherhood, which can trace its roots back to a royal charter issued in 1199 by John Lackland, King of England. In relative recent times (1948), several winegrowers resuscitated the Jurade in the embodiment of a group of ambassadors to spread the good word about Saint-Émilion wines far and wide. They have inductees far and wide and, given the role of Bordeaux in China these days, were inducting a flurry of Chinese members into their order, replete in clothing them their traditional crimson robes which make them look awfully papal!
The event was marked by a dinner (which while reasonably tasty when viewed thru the prism of feeding five deluxe course to about 300 plus people) punctuated by a dizzying array of selections from Saint Émilion- from basic wines thru older vintages of Figeac, Clos Fourtet, and indeed Cheval Blanc. The wines were quite delish but the pairings were not so well thought out-in my humble opinion.
Saint Émilion with Foie Gras with a slightly sweeted reduction- ouch.
Saint Émilion with a scallop topped with an oyster tartare- double ouch.
Saint Émilion served with a mousse of aged Comte chees- triple ouch.
And finally, aged Saint Émilion served with a sweet chocolate bombe like thing- ouch, ouch, ouch, and ouch.
While I railed on the pairings to my sommelier tablemates, one wise somm said something that made me take pause and upon reflection made total sense. The Chinese love their Bordeaux. The Chinese love their fancy meals replete with foie gras, seafood, and decadent cheeses and desserts. They really could not care less that they do not go together at the table. There within was more wisdom explained in a few sentences, than anything I had heard in my many trips to Asia. I had all but given up on trying to convert people to food and wine matches that worked, when their values and priorities are simply different than my own.
Wow…that explains so much.  If you are ultimately uninterested in creating happier pairings at the table because it’s simply not that important to you, you have solved an Asian rubric that has frustrated so many for so long. I will think twice now when preaching the gospel of aromatic whites, off dry options, and juicy and tannin light reds for Asian fare, and swallow my conventional wisdom in ‘western parings’ when people don’t choose to share similar thinking on food and wine. Amazing the power of the words of a young but honest Chinese sommelier.
Time to get off the soapbox?
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