What are your experiences when matching dim sum/ soup dumplings with whites? Our group has tried white burgs, champagne and German spatlese in the past with champagne the best match from memory. Any thoughts or conclusions others have from their own experiences would be appreciated. Having a wine dinner tomorrow eve and looks like I’ll be bringing the whites (Volnay flight for the duck and other ‘mains’), so can do almost anything.
Champagne or high acidity white would be my choice. I had a nice pairing with 2016 PYCM BB recently.
Most dim sum in the US has a good deal of sugar, making champagne (though it can work) an iffy pairing for me as it ends up tasting sour with a lot of the dishes, despite its working texturally. German kabinetts or spats are the way to go in my opinion, though feinherb and halbtrocken can work as well. If you are open to such things, whites from the Jura can work brilliantly with spicier dishes or if you use a lot of chili in your dipping sauce. Macle Cotes du Jura, for example, is my preferred Szechuan pairing (along with usu-nigori sake), and I usually bring a bottle to dim sum as well as I tend to spice things up.
Mostly, my recommendation would be to avoid a theme and bring several options, including a champagne if you already know you enjoy it. There’s such variety in a good dim sum spread, we prefer 3 or 4 different wine choices.
I’ve had good luck with individual dishes with Riesling from dry to Spatlese, white Burgs/Chard, lighter red Burgundies, dry Pessac whites, Beaujolais, Loire whites. But Champagne is most versatile, especially if you don’t know what will be on the carts. Our occasional dim sum group now usually just concentrates on a combination of rose and white Champagne (usually not non-dosage), with maybe one bottle of red Burg in case we order a duck to supplement the carts.
I think a richer champagne such as Vilmart Grande Reserve or Grand Cellier tends to work well with dimsum. Grand Marques work well too.
white: Riesling and Champagne
red: Mourvedre and Bdx
HELL no on the rieslings…boring??? I want some richness and weight on the palate without the peach/apricot notes…well-aged California Chardonnay or a younger white Rhone blend, particularly with some Marsanne and/or Rousanne for structure and Viognier for some aromatics…for the red, anything except bordeaux and or/or bordeaux blends. Gamay, Trousseau, or Cab Franc with a slight chill sounds good.
dim sum is so diverse - i think multiple different wines can work. There’s no one right wine imo
Aged Kabinett (pre 1999) is a good choice
Selosse Initial with soup dumplings was an inspired match last week.
What about fino sherry? I think the umami character of longer- aged examples works well with asian foods.
I also wonder if demi-sec chenin could fit the bill too.
Krug 04 was pretty nice with it last week too.
I thought dim sum is a meal in part of a day that consists of small variety of dishes and not just dumplings. Dim sum can go from seafoods to eggs to chicken feet and much more. Sorta like tapas. Thats what I was told long ago by my chinese friends. If thats the case I dont think you can just pick one type of wine for dim sum.
And imo i never found any dim sum dishes to be spicy.
Met up with some friends this past weekend at a dumpling house (so not an exact comparison) but an 03’ mag of Sauternes was amazing with everything…
May I ask which Sauternes?
Not traditionally, no, but in the US lots of restaurants throw in a little something for everyone. Plus, as I said, some people like to add chili oil to their mix for dipping.
At one of the better SGV dim sum places I saw a table drinking 2015 Lafite with their dim sum. Wouldn’t be my first choice…
Lafaurie peyraguey
The sweetness, salty and spicy all came together and had more than a couple of glasses…
Got to be tea. That’s the whole point about yamcha (translation: drink tea.)
I agree with you. Especially with oily food (chinese food) you want hot tea.