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Brown: Lamb brisket and dried bean curd skin in clay pot 枝竹羊腩煲

A robust and heavy dish that would overpower most Bordeaux, not to mention a delicate Burgundy. This dish requires a bold red that can stand up to the flavour intensity, such as a Priorat or a Salice Salentino Red. If you want to be adventurous, try it with a Vin Jaune or an Oloroso Sherry.

Check out this and more Chinese food and wine matches in Flavour Colours, our Chinese food and wine pairing iPhone/iPad App.

Following its success during the last two years, the third annual Hong Kong Vintage Port Academy (VPA) workshops and tastings were held from 25th to 31st October, led by Nicolas Heath of Fladgate Partnership and Euan Mackay of Symington Family Estates. This year also saw the launch of the VPA in Shanghai.

The VPA workshops for hoteliers, sommeliers and other members of the trade in both Hong Kong and Shanghai were oversubscribed with just over 100 places available in all three of the trainings. At the end of the class, participants had to sit a short examination consisting of a series of multiple choice questions and a commentary on one of the wines. Students who passed the examination received an official VPA diploma certificate and a VPA pin. The top student from each class was also presented with a bottle of Graham's 2000 and Taylor's 2000 vintage port in a VPA wooden box. The VPA is pleased to announce that all students passed with over 30% achieving full marks on the multiple choice section. The top students wrote creative and persuasive commentaries, guiding potential customers on how to enjoy the wine. Here are some extracts from their answers:

	Anobia Lam, Assistant F&B Manager, The Hong Kong Cricket Club: A versatile wine for a special occasion with western or even oriental cuisine, especially Chinese cuisine from Sichuan and Shanghai, with its strong flavour and complex seasoning.
	Cindy Cheng, Director of Learning & Development, Hyatt Regency Shatin: A pleasant glass of LBV Port wine enjoyable on any occasions. It is not dominating so it's very enjoyable on its own or with some nice cheese. To be more adventurous, try it with the Chinese treasure duck. You may find some nice surprise.
	Rossie Huang, Manager, Cheers, Shanghai: Good pair with black chocolate or cigar. It's a very elegant LBV Port, good to drink one glass after meal or before you go to sleep. Meanwhile, you can share it with your friends.

To demonstrate the true versatility of port with food, the students were treated to a lunch featuring carefully selected Chinese and western dishes paired with different ports. The pairings that were preferred by the majority of the participants included Shanghai sweet and vinegar spare ribs (糖醋排骨) with Taylor's 2000 vintage Port, Cantonese roasted pork belly (燒腩肉) with Fonseca 10 Year Old Tawny and a 70% cocoa dark chocolate bonbon with Dow's Nirvana. In Shanghai, participants were also particularly impressed with the seasonal hairy crab and Peking duck pairings with the 10 year old Tawnies.

In addition to the workshops, three other events were hosted:

Annual trade tasting showcasing 12 vintage ports (vintage and single quinta vintage) from the six members of the Academy: Croft, Dow's, Fonseca, Graham's, Taylor's and Warre's.

KEE Club consumer tasting with six innovative pairings of ports and canapés, including Chinese savoury dishes and FRANCESCA dark chocolate. Not only were the guests treated to a rare Imperial (6 litre bottle) of Taylor's 2003 Vintage Port and a 4.5 litre bottle of Graham's 20 Year Old Tawny, but this year's tasting also incorporated a prize draw with two lucky winners taking home a bottle of Graham's 1969 Single Harvest valued at over HK$3,000, and a Taylor's 'Century of Port' four half bottle collection worth HK$2,500.

Aged tawny tasting for selected members of the press including 10, 20, 30 and 40 Year Old, followed by a style tasting of the six member houses 20 Year old tawny and a Chinese lunch. Aged tawnies is one of the fastest growing sectors of the port trade, and our foodie journalist friends agreed that it would gain further ground if more consumers discovered the perfect pairings between tawnies and Chinese cuisines, such as hairy crab, Peking duck and the like. The aim of The Vintage Port Academy is to bring the understanding and enjoyment of Vintage Port, the knowledge of its rich and unique culture and history, to wine professionals and consumers in Asia and elsewhere through educational seminars. The Vintage Port Academy will be back in Hong Kong and China next October. Please contact us if you want to secure a place in one of the workshops.

George Tezadze, Chairman Advisor of the National Wine Agency, Georgia, and a renowned wine expert, was in town recently to present the first ever Saperavi masterclass to members of the trade. Despite everyone's busy schedule, the masterclass was well attended by distributors who are looking to broaden their portfolios, sommeliers who want to source niche and quality wine, and journalists and educators eager to learn the history and diversity of Georgian wines.

Georgia, being the oldest winemaking region in the world with an 8,000 year history, is called the cradle of wine. Tucked in the Caucasus between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, Georgia has a continental climate, providing a long ripening season to make quality wine. There are 18 appellations, 14 of which are in the Kakheti region in the east. Georgia has over 500 indigenous grape varieties of which about 40 are commercially used for winemaking.

Attendees tasted 13 wines from sparkling to still and dry to fortified, representing the diversity of Georgian wine style. Participants were particularly interested in the traditional white wine made in qvevri from Alaverdi Monastery using the Kisi grape. The wine has expressive tannins balanced with aromas of herbs, spices and fruits.

The highlight was the tasting of the eight Saperavis. Saperavi is the grape to watch out for. Its high tannin and acidity provide the backbone for a wine with long ageing capability. It has black fruit and spicy characters rather like a combination of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. With age, it develops a tertiary bouquet of chocolate, walnut and dried fruits. It is versatile and can be made in different styles: rosé, easy drinking and fruity reds, elegant and structured reds as well as fortified wine.

Quote from Jancis Robinson, 'Saperavi is undoubtedly a great grape ... just one of a fleet of fine Georgian wines we can add to our ever-expanding international range of wine experiences'

Prior to 2006, Georgia exported nearly 95% of its wine to Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Now, China and Asia has taken nearly 5% of its total export. Distributors who are interested in Georgian wine should contact the National Wine Agency. Read more

Click here for Bettane & Desseauve's ratings on 2010 Bordeaux.