Woody at Ch. 2 New Years

This is a lot more difficult than you think and there are not any hard and fast rules. Consider that in Chinese cuisine there is no citrus or acid so the mouth feel is texture. Wine is a close beverage to tea in that it's not cold and and has tannin, think red wine.

Even the heat of the wok adds a "smoldering quality" to the simplest dish giving the food body and texture that takes it into red wine country. Factor in the umami flavor influence (mushroom) from stocks, soy, oyster and black beans sauces and red is the answer.

Yet caution is needed here too, a little tannin is OK but a killer Zin is out of the question.Think lighter reds such as Pinot Noir or Gamay or Merlot and if they have some bottle age to soften the acid and tannins so much the better.

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