Heavenly pairings of mooncakes and wine (2)

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Moscato d’Asti wines are Piedmont charmers that feature an abundance of perfumed aromas, honey and sweet fruit flavors to nicely mirror the sweetness of the mooncakes. These semi-sparklers also provide an underlying freshness to offset the sweet, dense filling of the mooncakes while the light bubbles delightfully tickle your palate.

Another attractive element of Moscato d’Asti wines is that they’re quite affordable. A trio of excellent examples that are easy to find in Shanghai include Pio Cesare Moscato d’Asti DOCG, Michele Chiarlo Moscato d’Asti Nivole DOCG and Antinori Prunotto Moscato d’Asti DOCG.

If you have never tasted a Pedro Ximenez Sherry, then you’re really missing one of the world’s greatest sweet wines.

Made from sundried Pedro Ximenez grapes, this is a dark, mahogany-colored wine with very concentrated sweet aromas and flavors of raisins and spices.

The sweetness of the wine is balanced by good acidity that make this wine an ideal companion to the sweetest mooncakes.

I found that the spice sensations in Pedro Ximenez Sherries also add intriguing flavor dimensions to mooncakes. Excellent Pedro Ximenez Sherries are made by the Bodegas Gonzalez Byass, Williams & Humbert, Jose Estevez, Sanchez Romante and Lustau.

Not all mooncakes have sweet fillings. Salty mooncakes stuffed with ham, barbecue pork, chicken, duck, salty egg yolk and other non-sweet ingredients are also popular. These mooncakes commonly have a lard-based pastry.

Savory mooncakes

The combination of meat and lard begs for a fresh red wine. At the top of my list for pairing with salty, meat-filled mooncakes are well-made, fresh Chianti wines from Tuscany.

Chianti wines are predominantly made from the versatile Sangiovese grape. These rather light, fresh wines cut right through the lard and meatiness of the mooncakes and accentuate the original favors.

While the overall quality of Chianti wines has greatly improved, you still have to be careful when choosing these wines. Four good value, sure bets readily available in Shanghai are the Ruffino Chianti DOCG, Marchesi de Frescobaldi Castiglioni Chianti DOCG, Antinori Santa Cristina Chianti Superiore DOCG and Castello di Querceto Chianti DOCG.

Additional good candidates to pair with salty mooncakes are young Burgundies like the Domaine Bachelet Monnot Bourgogne Pinot Noir, Domaine de Montile Bougogne Pinot Noir, and Louis Jadot Cotes de Beaune Villages.

When pairing mooncakes with these fresh reds, remember to chill the wines. The best taste attributes of these wines are achieved at 14-16 degrees Celsius.

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