De Grendel's World Cup Pairing 2015 - South Africa VS Samoa
Round 2 - Saturday 26th September
As the rising sun is now setting after the last game we can now focus all our energy on getting #behindtheboks for their must win clash against Western Samoa. Continuing in the spirit of De Grendel’s inaugural pairing world cup we are focusing on a recipe for you to try at home from Western Samoa paired with two of our truly South African wines.
Sapa Sui
For this classic Samoan chop suey style dish the perfect South African pairing would be our Chardonnay 2014 or our Pinot Noir 2012 both wines are extremely good pairings with food with soy sauce in them. Soy sauce is always a problem child when it comes to food and wine pairing. On its own, too much salt increases the perception of tannins in a wine. The umami in soy sauce intensifies that tannic effect. Any bitter notes or off flavours in wine - especially red wine - also come to the front, while the wine's fruitiness is muted. But soy sauce is not eaten as a stand-alone ingredient. It's used in a multitude of ways, including seasoning sushi; stir-fry’s, marinades and dipping sauces, so pair the wine with the overall flavours of the dish.
The Chardonnay due to the beautiful citrus flavours of grapefruit and marmalade with soft vanilla undertones will support the depth and saltiness of this classic dish while the oak will be lifted to give the wine a lovely toasty finish.
The Pinot Noir due to softer tannins present in this wine and the lovely ripe and fresh red and black berries in abundance with the soft velvety finish will help to soften the soy in this dish and lift up the fresher flavours present in the dish.