First up was from a top Alsace producer - Josmeyer Pinot Gris Le Fromenteau 2007. Chan described its natural smokiness, earthiness and mushroom characters, matching the black truffle and cep mushrooms of our Bresse poularde served with potato mousseline. A little dish on the side was a savoury baba with lardo and black truffle cream.

All agreed that the wine was quite wonderful, Kwok noting good acidity. The dish made the wine even fresher and more tart, says Meiburg, while Viens observes the citrusy characters at the back, performing almost like a sorbet. He points out this is a new way of pairing, when the wine acts as a palate cleanser in addition to balancing flavours. 'In this red-obsessed town, this is a great example of where white wine is the best choice, even with robust flavours,' Meiburg says. Alsace is a huge pork-eating region where diners invariably drink white.

From the artfully laid-out chicken dish, we moved onto a plate with, daringly, just three elements: a piece of Couthouis duck prepared as game with some organic citrus peel at the end, a piece of honeyed daikon and the so-called civet sauce, which Ekkebus explains is thickened with the duck's organs and its blood. 'This is going to be a huge challenge,' Viens says. We were trying this with Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino 2005 from Tuscany.

'Fantastic,' says Meiburg of the wine. Sometimes just one word will do. The black cherry nose was suggestive of acidity, 'it makes you salivate', she adds, and the wine is highly aromatic with subtle oaking. For her, this is the fourth flavour of the dish. Kwok says he prefers a wine with more spice, a less delicate wine; and for Viens the dish was so perfectly balanced (I also noted the rich sauce, the acidity of the daikon, the soft texture of the duck), while the wine, though suitably perfumed and spicy, creates a strange texture. 'It just goes to show that not all food can be or should be paired with wine.' Meiburg counters: 'I cannot imagine it without wine.'

Apparently in my honour, being such an ambassador of Portuguese wine, we were served Quinta das Tecedeiras Reserva 2005 from the Douro to go with the Bresse pigeon. It was lovely, sweet and easy, silky smooth, but a bit too polished; perhaps it needed more edges to match the complex dishes of Amber? Kwok says it had finesse, Viens says it could win Miss World and Meiburg ponders if she would pick it as Portuguese in a blind tasting. There was a pause. In fact, the pigeon breast, with a ginger crust and bitter chocolate emulsion (very Mexican), needed a spicy, oaky wine. The wine's tannins brought out the meatiness, but the Douro may not bring out enough. Perhaps Argentinian Malbec or Aussie Shiraz would have been more suitable.

Last up was E. Guigal Cote-Rotie Brune and Blonde 2004 from northern Rhone with a semi-wild mallard duck leg prepared as a salmis with girolles and seared foie gras over a Parmesan-flavoured artisanal polenta.

'This dish is wild and at the same time civilised,' Kwok says with his chef's hat on. 'Very carefully thought out.' His words perfectly echoed Meiburg's description of the wine: 'Wild dry herbs, restrained and mystic, wild, savage.' Viens notes it is a traditional wine with its iron-fist-in-the-velvet-glove impression. Chan points out that with polenta's texture it is important to have an elegant wine - and with 2004 being a tad chilly, the wine had perfect acid balance to do the job. 'The dish is a little bit noble in aromas but delicate on the palate - and the wine is so similar,' Viens says.