“The use of vinegar, subtle sweetness and the fairly high oil content in many Shanghainese dishes often call for a wine with firm, crisp acidity. Vinegar content in food is tricky when pairing with wines since a strong sour taste can overwhelm any fruit in the wine. Ideally, acidity levels should be matched. However, many Shanghainese dishes temper vinegar content with a hint of sugar or a fatty and oily element in the dish. The sour taste is often not sharp but rounded and thus a medium to full-bodied wine with crisp acidity and fairy prominent fruit profile works well with many Shanghainese dishes.”

This year’s Grandi Marchi Grand Tasting brings Shanghainese cuisine and the best Italian wines produced by seventeen top Italian wineries together. Piero Antinori, President of the Istituto Grandi Marchi said, “The next global challenge for Italian wineries is not to be considered only ‘ethnic’ linked to Italian cuisine but to show international consumers the vast potential of matching our wide variety of wines with various local cuisines in particular those in countries which are new to wine consumption.” 

This marriage of Italian wine with Asian flavours was celebrated in Shanghai on the 23rd of November, 2011 and featured a special dinner collaboration with Jeannie Cho Lee MW and Ye Shanghai, showing how Italian wines are able to bring out the unique flavours and aromas of Shanghainese cuisine. Buon appetito!

 

Wheat gluten with mushrooms and bamboos shoots

 

Chopped vegetable wrapped in beancurd sheet

 

Potpourri of eighteen vegetables

 

NV Carpenè Malvoti Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Cuvée Extra Dry DOCG, Veneto, Italy

 

2010 Alois Lageder Tenutæ Lageder “Porer” Pinot Grigio, Alto Adige, Italy

 

2010 Michele Chiarlo Roverto Gavi DOCG

 

Sliced pork with garlic puree

 

Braised beef slices with five spices in dark soy sauce

 

2007 Pio Cesare Barolo Ornato, Piedmont, Italy

 

Double-boiled truffle soup with assorted mushrooms

 

Braised prawn with sweet & chilli sauce

 

Baked cod fish yè shanghai style

 

2007 Umani Ronchi Rosso Conero Cúmaro Riserva, Marche, Italy

 

2005 Lungarotti Rubesco Riserva, Umbria, Italy

 

Whole roasted duck

 

Crispy skin served with pancake

 

Sautéed minced duck served with lettuce

 

2006 Biondi Santi Tenuta Greppo Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Tuscany, Italy

 

2007 Ambrogio & Giovanni Folonari Tenute Cabreo Borgo, Tuscany, Italy

 

2007 Antinori Guado Al Tasso, Tuscany, Italy

 

Stir-fried shredded beef with scallion

 

2007 Masi Costasera, Veneto, Italy

 

Braised mushroom in abalone sauce

 

Sautéed seasonal vegetables

 

2008 Argiolas Korem Isola dei Nuraghi IGT, Sardina, Italy

 

2006 Mastroberadino Radici Taurasi DOCG, Campania, Italy

 

2007 Rivera Truisco Primitivo Puglia IGT, Puglia, Italy

 

Steamed pork dumplings

 

2006 Tasca d’Almerita Rosso del Conte, Sicily, Italy

 

2007 Donnafugata Mille e una notte, Sicily, Italy

 

Steamed sesame dumplings covered with peanut flour

 

Seasonal fruit platter