To pair or not to pair a glass of Bordeaux with Hokkien fried noodles? According to Patricia Guy and Edwin Soon, authors of Wine With Asian Food: New Frontiers of Taste: “Certainly!”

But the alacrity of the statement glosses over the complicated nature of this union. Wine pairing may be a simple affair for the Western meal, structured by course and matched according to the general rule of reds with red meat and whites with fish and poultry. The Eastern dining experience, on the other hand, is a communal affair of multiple flavors served simultaneously, so deciding upon a single bottle to suit all tastes can prove a complicated pursuit. Throw in the authors’ caveat that “it is best to choose a wine that evolved alongside that dish,” and the reader is left wondering about Asia’s place in wine history and what that means to Asians.

While evidence points to the Middle East for having first domesticated the grape, it was the rise of the Roman Empire that established basic wine-making techniques, which in turn were preserved by the Catholic Church, whose members used wine as the Holy Sacrifice during mass. Although the grape grew in Asia as well, it never underwent the transformation and religious sanctification it did in the West, and was therefore rarely paired with Asian cuisine until recently.

The authors of Wine With Asian Food: New Frontiers of Taste circumnavigate the pairing dilemma by suggesting that red, white and crisp sweet all stand at the table and that each bite is wed with its appropriate wine. If this seems an overly complicated concert, they also recommend that the food be served by course, though this ushers in a host of other problems, like being relegated to eating at home and lending considerable thought to rearranging an entire dietary lifestyle.

The book offers recipes alongside suggested wines categorized by “Old World (Europe),” “New World (non-Europe)” and “Alternatives.” More importantly, it acknowledges that the union requires imagination and experimentation, a trend already in full swing. The fact that wine has not traditionally been a part of Asian history and foods doesn’t seem to hold back those on the other side of the globe. Asia’s wine consumption has risen nearly 8 percent in recent years, while global consumption has only risen by an average of one percent annually; by 2011, China’s wine consumption alone will expand to 70 percent, making it the world’s eighth largest wine-consuming country.

Suggested Wine Pairings With Asian Dishes:
Shrimp Tempura (Japan)
Old World: Rose Champagne-Billecart-Salmon $75, Franciacorta from Bellavista $60
New World: California Brut style from Iron Horse $30

Stir-Fried Beef With Peppers (China)
Old World: Gran Reserva Rioja
New World: Australian Shiraz-Grange

Beef Ramen (Japan)
Old World: Verdicchio Superiore
New World: Pacific Star Viognier

Tandoori Chicken (India)
Old World: Nino Negri Nebbiolo
New World: Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir

Satay (Indonesia)
Old World: Gianni Masciarelli’s Marina Cvetic Trebbiano
New World: any lightly wooded Chardonnay

Shabu Shabu (Japan)
Old World: Fattoria Zerbina’s Albana di Romagna Arrocco Passito
New World: Silver Ridge Early Muscat (Oregon)