Sparkling with fried chicken? The Instagram home cook pairs the 2022 Decoded Wine winners with her favourite dishes.
Mixing ingredients to make magic is second nature to home cook, creative and wine lover Jessica Nguyen. As far as she’s concerned, when it comes to food and wine matches, it’s not all about nailing the variety and the dish – it’s more about creating the mood, the epic flavour combo and bringing joy to the table. And as hardcore devotees to the Church of Jessica, we have to agree.
Here Jessica shares her modern-day food pairings for a selection of our finalists from the Decoded Wine Awards, lifting your wine pairing game to next-level brilliance. What’s Jessica’s intel on creating Insta-worthy food matches that deliver on the yum front? She keeps it simple and super diverse, with a big range of cuisines and low-fuss recipes.
Category: Sparkling
Winner: Petaluma Croser Vintage
Food pairing: Fried chicken
“I love how well this workhorse dish lifts its game and pairs so nicely with top shelf sparking. This unusual pairing works perfectly as the bubbles and bracing acidity from the sparkling cuts through the richness and fat of the fried chicken, clashing fatty and rich with crisp and bubbly.”
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Category: Fuller white under $20
Winner: Credaro Five Tales Chardonnay
Food pairing: Special fried rice
“This is a great pairing for a weeknight dinner – I love it because it’s an easy dish to throw together after a busy day. A glass of this Margaret River chardonnay would be my first pick to go with a bowl of special fried rice. Nothing fancy but incredibly delicious.”
Category: Fuller white over $20
Winner: Oakridge Hazeldene Chardonnay
Food pairing: Pan-seared scallops
“A full-flavoured chardonnay pairs perfectly with buttery grilled seafood, so I match seared scallops in a butter sauce with this lovely wine from the Yarra Valley. It’s even better with a squeeze of lemon over the scallops to help the lemony acidity of the chardonnay really shine.”
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Category: Lighter white over $20
Winner: Pikes Traditionale Riesling
Food pairing: Spicy coconut-based curry
“This is one of my favourite pairings. A spicy coconut-based curry is fantastic with a riesling – try it with a dry one like the Pikes or an off-dry (slightly sweet) style. The flavours work incredibly harmoniously and don’t overpower each other in this coconut-based curry.”
Category: Lighter red over $20
Winner: Onannon Pinot Noir
Food pairing: Chinese roast duck
“Who doesn’t love Chinese roast duck? It’s very rich and carries a bit of spiciness, so you don’t want to be drinking a really heavy red wine with it otherwise the pairing can be a bit too overwhelming. I love the fruitiness in this grenache – it balances out the rich and spicy taste of this duck dish.”
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