Braised pork hock with naam yu (fermented beancurd paste) is a humble but comforting dish. The hefty, rich pork hock has a lot of fat, which carries the salty, savoury flavours of the naam yu. It's a perfect dish to eat with lots of piping hot steamed rice. When cooked correctly, the meat has a wonderful texture from the pork hock's succulent, jelly-like skin and stickiness from the tendon. The best wine to pair with this simple dish must have pure fruit, but it also needs to be clearly defined stylistically. Casa Lapostolle Cuvee Alexandre Merlot 2004, Aconcagua, Chile This wine won the top gold medal in the merlot category of the recent WinPac competition. The 2004 has style-definition, finesse, concentration, structure, depth and length. There's plenty of complexity to play with the savoury richness of the naam yu. The fermented beancurd's sweet, salty and savoury balance is the perfect platform for the wine's elegant, almost pencil shaving-like merlot fruit, and deep, long, penetrating yet balanced acidity. This acidity goes a long way to keep the palate fresh and the tendon and pork skin stickiness obvious but enjoyable. Don't be in a hurry to drink this merlot. It will develop more complexity in the years to come. Available for HK$288 from Moet Hennessy Diageo (tel: 2976 1888) Zenato Ripassa della Valpolicella Superiore 2003, Veneto, Italy The Valpolicella region is famous for everything from light fruity wines to their extreme opposites. This ripassa sits in the middle. As the name suggests, it's made by passing light, fruity wine through the leftover pressed pulp of Amarone wines. This Zenato sets the benchmark for this style. The mix of local grapes, the corvina, leads the way in this combination. The fruit notes bring freshness to the sizzling pork hock and rich beancurd. Serve this wine slightly cool and the acidity and fruit softness will linger to mingle with the sticky meatiness of the dish. Available for HK$258 from Castello del Vino (tel: 2866 0577) Antinori Tignanello 2003, Tuscany, Italy Just about every Chianti producer makes a 'super Tuscan' these days, but Tignanello started the craze almost 30 years ago. This was the first red wine made in Chianti without white grapes. It was also the first of its type to be matured in flavour-enhancing French oak instead of mouldy old casks. Tignanello's quality has only advanced from vintage to vintage. This wine is a perfect match with the pork hock and naam yu because they're compatible in flavour depth and textural richness. The flavour notes are in the same spectrum and direction. All you need to complete it is hot, fragrant rice. Available for HK$662 from Remy (tel: 2845 5995) simon@iwinecentre.com
