Matching wine and roast duck

Press, 28 July 1989, Page 31

Matching wine and roast duck

By

PHILLIP PYE

What with a reluctancy to brave the chilly winter evenings, among other things, my merry band of tasters and I have not been able to spend a lot of time together of late. Just when one thought that all. was lost, one of the crew came up with the bright idea of having a Sunday roast to bring the idle palates out of hibernation. The main course was

roast duck, so the invitation had a footnote: bring a white wine that will stand up to such a wild dish. As the crew got together on a dim and grey Canterbury winter’s day, it was rather interesting to see what others perceived should go nicely with roast duck. One thought that the fresh peachy fruit of the Montana Gisborne Chardonnay 1988 would enhance such a dish, but no, this marvellously priced wine would be far more suited to quail. Another thought that a Babich Fume Vert 1988 might just do the trick. This wine is excellent value and an absolute dream with smoked seafoods. Although not unpleasant with roast duck, it was found to be a little too dry for such a demanding dish. Another of the crew brought a new release from Torlesse called “Chello.” A blend of Can-terbury-grown Muller Thurgau and briedecker, the wine has a good proportion of residual sugar coupled with fresh

and inviting fruit flavours. Like many of the Canterbury wines the label is picturesque and yes, it got a big nod from the team. It was really delightful with roast duck, and would also be tantalising with any white meat or seafood dish, as well as being very pleasant on its own. This duck definitely needs a Sauvignon blanc, said one of my merry bunch, but no, the Esk Valley 1988 Sauvignon Blanc was not the wine for this dish, although It was the pick of the wines tried with the ever-faith-ful pumpkin soup. Another of the group waved the delicacy and astounding weight and great fruit of a Dry River 1988 Rhine Riesling under everybody’s nose — what a brilliant wine this is, and just perfect with roast pork. However, the amazing rhine riesling with the roast duck was the Hunters 1988 from Marlborough. This wine is blossoming into something rather special, with its perfect honeysuckle

characters. If you like riesling buy this one. The Merlen 1988 Riesling was also exceptionally good with the roast duck. This is another of those brilliant Marlborough rieslings to put away for another three to five years. The wines that really excelled with roast duck though were a handful of gewurztraminers. The Giesen 1989 Gewurztraminer has loads of spice, rich fruit and commendable acidity. It is an absolute dream for a dish such as roast duck, and one should also procure some of this for Cantonese cuisine. The label, by the way, is a painting of Sumner, and quite brilliant, as are all of the Giesen labels. The Vidals 1988 Reserve Gewurztraminer is the wine that does it all. It is herbaceous, full of flavour and weight and just perfect with roast duck and lots of other game foods. If duck is not available, I suggest you try . giving some chicken a lift with a few herbs and the same wines.