There are many versions of the popular Spanish dish paella. Some are specifically seafood based, some are meaty and gamey, while others include both meat and seafood. Two things set paella apart from other rice dishes. First, the rice is cooked without a lid, so the liquid evaporates, concentrating the flavour. Second, the rice gains a lovely golden yellow colour from the saffron. A wine served with paella needs to have richness, freshness and plenty of fruit and complexity to match the dish's complex flavours.
Merlot, Torres 'Atrium' 2003, Penedes, Spain
This wine is selected not because of its Spanish heritage but for the purity of fruit and the well-balanced oak handling. That merlot is one of the trendiest red grapes is also coincidental. The wine is plush with lovely layered flavours. It would go well with paella cooked with rabbit and duck and further enhanced with the mashed livers of the game in finishing the dish. This is hearty fare and a splash of the merlot in the bubbling paella will logically build the bridge between the two flavours.
Available for $117 from Remy (tel: 2523 5904)
Pinot Gris, Elk Cove 2003/2004, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Oregon is famous for three different pinots: the red pinot noir and the white 'sisters', pinot blanc and the sumptuous pinot gris. Elk Cove is light yellow and rich in exotic perfume such as white pears, hay and spicy tropical fruit. The wine is full bodied and gives a satisfying mouthful. It's unoaked and finishes with pure fruit. It's bright and lively and goes well, not only with seafood paella, but anything with a heavy pinch of real saffron. During Hong Kong's hotter weather, try a lighter variation of paella - using ample amounts of chopped green beans - with this pinot gris.
