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Oenologist and wine buff Ed Soo, co-author of Wine with Asian Food: New Frontiers in Taste, picks the perfect vino to enjoy with Thai food

From Time Out Singapore

Consider the composition of a typical Thai meal first. Whether it’s a meat, seafood or vegetable dish, it’s the bright, zesty herbs – lime leaf, basil, and lemongrass – that set Thai food apart from other Asian cuisines. Tangy turmeric, mint, nutmeg, ginger, garlic, cloves, coriander, peppercorns, sweet shallots, spring onions, and chilli complete the spectrum of flavours, all topped off with the texture and taste of salty fish sauce and silky coconut milk.

In essence, Thai cuisine represents the balance of sweet, sour, salty, bitter and spicy; basically the full spectrum. But with so many tastes hitting the palate, and so many types of wine available, pairing Thai food and wine doesn’t have to be too daunting. Sweet wines always work with chilli. Pick a spätlese riesling, muscat or even an ice wine such as a sauternes. Sweetness in the wine envelops the chilli, making everything taste smooth.

Coconut-based curries taste, well, nutty. Complement them with an oak-aged white wine chardonnay, pinot blanc or sauvignon blanc. White wine’s citrus and white-fruit nuances provide gratifying counterpoints to most curries.

If you must have vin rouge, avoid robust, tannic reds. They become more astringent with spicy foods, herbs and fresh vegetables. Instead, go for a merlot, shiraz-cabernet blends or Sicily’s Nero d’Avola. And, if you must make a statement, have port on ice.

Bottles to try

Delas Frères Muscat de Beaumes de Venise 2004 $228. Watson’s Wine, shops citywide, www.watsonswine.com.

Latitude 41 Sauvignon Blanc 2006  $242, Soho Wines and Spirits, 49 Elgin St, Soho, 2525 0316.

Oyster Bay Chardonnay 2007 $190, Oliver’s, 2/F, Prince’s Building, 10 Chater Road, Central, 2810 7710.

Penfolds Private Release Shiraz Cabernet 2006 $300, Margaret River Wineshop, 3 St Francis St, Wan Chai, 9803 1873.