Comments on: Impossible food wine pairing, Chinese new year edition: Peking duck!

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:43:10 +0000

An IPA rather than wine. A light-bodied and crisp IPA like Tower 10 from Karl Strauss. The strong hop presence and inherent carbonation will cut through the duck’s natural oil and heavy grease to cleanse the palate, while the citrus notes in the beer will complement the deep-fried duck skin and the sweetness in the traditional hoisin dipping sauce.

By: Esteban

Esteban — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:54:07 +0000

Sherry wines are a winners! Not just the light Fino/Manzanilla but also the Oloroso and Amontillado. Avoid the Creams and PX, the sweet ones.

Esteban

By: Jacques Morin

Jacques Morin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:55:17 +0000

Woow, everything under the sun. Most seem to prefer white or bubly how about a nice malbec??

By: bill

bill — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:16:28 +0000

How about Wan Foo ?

By: Foodiewino

Foodiewino — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:01:20 +0000

I’d go for a Cru Beaujolais, like Fleurie. I love Gamay with Duck!

By: Andrew H.

Andrew H. — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 04:18:11 +0000

Sorry all, but the best pair with Peking duck, especially if you eat it with raw scallion & Hoisin sauce, is Brandy. As a matter of fact, Armagnac works really well.
The firey characteristic and deep fruit flavor will add another dimension to this dish.

By: Belinda

Belinda — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 00:29:45 +0000

I totally second Edward’s call on the sparkling shiraz! I’ve enjoyed that pairing many times. In fact, my family is celebrating the Year of the Rat in Princeton tonight with my mom’s Peking Duck and the red bubbly stuff.

By: Dr. Vino

Dr. Vino — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 03:58:51 +0000

I’d just like to point out that 17 comments into this thread, nobody has mentioned beer yet–fantastic! I think this is the deepest we’ve ever gone on one of these “impossible” pairing without suds coming up…

Chris, in particular, thanks for sharing your extensive experience!

By: New Mexi-cow

New Mexi-cow — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 02:04:21 +0000

Everyone’s already said Champagne, so my second pick would be Caymus Conundrum. For fun, I’d love to try a nice Tavel or the wonderful Chateau Musar Rose from Lebanon.

By: Ted

Ted — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:23:56 +0000

A floral viognier with a dry finish.

By: wendy c

wendy c — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 15:22:47 +0000

I’d go for one of the fuller bodied Rose wines coming out of Italy. Maybe the nebbiolo Il Mimo.Just enough fruit with a touch of tannin and acid to cut through the fat.

By: JF

JF — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:14:19 +0000

Muga Rioja Rosado.

By: edward

edward — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 06:22:14 +0000

Tyler,

Good question. I find Peking Duck fairly easy to match with wine. Maybe it’s being an Aussie and having ready access to Sparking Shiraz (which I think is the perfect match). Pinot as mentioned is a good choice as well.

The main clash of ingredients – tends to be the sweet hoi sin sauce that is used and the condiments (spring onion etc). Go easy on those and the wine match is even better.

The last time I had Peking Duck I had a bottle of tannic cabernet and this was also fine.

By: Tyler

Tyler — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 02:23:45 +0000

@chris, in fairness, I tend to like sparkling wines a lot with everything anyhow; bubbles in my glass just make me happy, I suppose. But, I’d also say that the versatility of a good sparkling wine is often overlooked when people try to pair food with wine, so it’s a refreshing change to see if a good sparkler can go with the meal (as it can in this case, IMO).

By: michael

michael — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 21:56:46 +0000

@chris, glad you agree. i have tried a Fleurie and that did just fine, but the Chinon kicks them all up and down the line. it just supports the food too damned well.

oh, and champagne? my only beef (if you can call it that) is that bubbly can be too much of a “focus” than a complement. that said, i love the Alsacian roses for their decided strawberry profiles (think: Lucien Albrecht Creman d’Alsace Brut Rose).