Cool-climate fine wines the best accompaniment to a Hong Kong summer
Tart fruit flavours and mouth-watering acidity are an antidote to the city’s torrid temperatures. Pinot noirs and sauvignon blancs from New Zealand, Tasmania and Burgundy are good choices
As the mercury heats up, my thoughts turn to cooler climates – not the destinations per se, but the elegant wines they produce. Cool-climate wines are a refreshing antidote to Asia’s steamy summers.
Cooler climates produce delicate, finessed wines that are lighter in alcohol and on the edge of ripeness. Warm days are followed by crisp nights and preceded by misty mornings that slow and limit ripening. These conditions create excellent sparkling wine, tingling rieslings, and delicate pinot noirs.
Cool-climate wines possess minerally, tart fruit flavours with mouth-watering acidity. This acidic spine supports longevity in the bottle and in the mouth.
Champagne is the ultimate cool climate success story in Asia, while the undisputed champion of pinot noir is Burgundy. The area’s cool springs and warm summers provide just the right conditions for this fussy grape.
Marlborough in New Zealand is famous for superb sauvignon blancs, vibrant and taut with explosive green fruits, figs and gooseberries. Top producers include Cloudy Bay, Craggy Range, Wairau River and Seresin. Warm sunny days are offset by nippy evenings, which make wraps or jackets de rigueur after nightfall. Marlborough’s long, slow ripening season intensifies the fruit flavours. Grassy, herbal notes are supported by razor-sharp acidity.