Nederburg turns heads in the East

Friday, 9 August, 2013
Nederburg
Who says white wine is the only option for poultry?
Two Nederburg reds were chosen as ideal partners for duck and chicken respectively, in China's recent Perfect Pairing Awards run by wine journalist, judge and publisher of the esteemed The Wine Review, Ch’ng Poh Tiong.  

The 2010 vintages of Nederburg Ingenuity Red and The Motorcycle Marvel were amongst a handful of wines chosen as excellent matches from an extensive line-up of Old and New World evaluated for the purpose.

The Ingenuity Red, a blend of Italian varietals Sangiovese, Barbera and Nebbiolo was chosen for Chaozhou braised duck. It also won a gold medal in the parallel 2013 Wine Review Challenge, also run by Ch'ng, who is also a judge for Decanter World Wine Awards.

The Motorcycle Marvel, a blend of Rhône varietals, mainly Grenache, Carignan and Shiraz, was paired with Cantonese roast chicken. It took silver in the Wine Review Challenge.

Chaozhou is in Guangdong Province and noted for its fairly light cuisine. Braising is a popular form of cooking and duck is prepared with soy sauce, lemongrass, galangal (similar to ginger), garlic, cloves, cinnamon and star anise.

Cantonese roast chicken is prepared with soy sauce, sesame oil and a hoisin and honey glaze or with spiced salt and has a very crispy skin.

"These results are a real eye-opener and encourage us to be much more adventurous in our pairings" says Nederburg's global marketing manager, Lynette Harris. She adds that sales to the East are growing in double digits.

Another Nederburg wine, available exclusively on the Nederburg Auction, the 2008 Two Centuries Cabernet Sauvignon, won silver in the Wine Review Challenge.

Nederburg cellar master Razvan Macici recently returned from a highly successful trip to Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai as well as to Singapore, Bangkok and Taipei.

"It was fantastic to discover how versatile our wines are and how well they go with so many Chinese and other Asian dishes," he said.

WineLand