Wine-Food Pairing

Fewer restaurants are giving diners the guidance they need—leaving diners to do the research themselves.

Most people default to Chardonnay at restaurants but other wines will fit Asian cuisines better. Shebeko/Shutterstock

I was reviewing a classic Mandarin restaurant some years ago and was amazed at what I saw. The restaurant’s food was made to go with aromatic white wines, but 13 of the 14 tables had chardonnays.

Even though this was a truly upscale restaurant in a supposedly savvy wine town, chardonnay isn’t the best match for this kind of food. Gewurztraminer is. And the wine list had a superb dry gewurztraminer, which is a classic match with Asian food.