Perfect match

Roast duck is a staple on many Hong Kong tables. It's delicious straight out of the oven or served with soup noodles or plain steamed rice. Most restaurants have a secret marinade of master stock, based on dried mandarin peel, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper and other blends of spices that support the richness of the duck. Roasting concentrates the flavour and renders out the fat. Roast duck can be accompanied by red or white wine, but whatever you choose needs to have richness of fruit and fine balance. The more exotically savoury, the better.

Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Margaret River, Western Australia

Strangely, this wine is cheaper in Hong Kong than it is in Perth, Western Australia, and we have a better range of vintages available to us. The wine's fame goes back to the 1980s. It's well-suited to roast duck; the minty, savoury fruit links up with the marinade and firm platform of the meat. The grainy tannins in the wine are mouth-filling.

Available for HK$380 at Moet Hennessy Diageo (tel: 2976 1333)

Calera Mt Harlan Viognier 2006, Central Coast, California, the United States

This stunning viognier has been at the top of my list for more than 20 years. It's honest and the perfume lasts and builds upon complexity. It has oodles of richness, give or take minor vintage variations. It's always stylish and long lasting, and goes well with roast duck. The wine's richness is more wholesome than many reds - it seduces and marries the duck's richness and savoury tones. Don't serve it too cold, though.

Available for HK$313 at Golden Gate Wine (tel: 2891 8121)

Glenmorangie Lasanta, Scotland

Bill Lumsden is the mastermind behind the Glenmorangie cask-finished whisky. This Lasanta is finished in casks previously used for sherry, so they impart a slight sweet and savoury contrast that's in inverse proportion to the duck. It's a great drink for when the duck is hot out of the oven. The combination is delicious and well melded.

Available for HK$550 at Moet Hennessy Diageo