Pair classic Cantonese dishes with Bourgogne wines

Dine at home and match classic Cantonese dishes with lesser-known Bourgogne wines.

One unexpected upshot of the stay-at-home global pandemic is people's increasing appetites to become more creative with their cooking and drinking at home. One way of elevating the domestic dinner-table offering is by pairing your dishes with the appropriate Burgundy wines – not of the stratospherically expensive auction kind, but what the Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) calls the lesser-known, more affordable "hidden treasures" of the region's appellations.

These include Bourgogne and Macon, which perfectly complement the comfort food classics of Cantonese cuisine. It all makes perfect sense, given the city's relationship with the French jurisdiction. Hong Kong retains its special place as a high-value market for Bourgogne wines, with year-on-year exports increasing 5.9% in volume and 8% in value in 2018–19, according to BIVB.

"These wines offer an entry point into the unique terroirs of the famous region with incredible taste and price-to-quality ratio," says Anne Moreau, the president of BIVB's communication committee. "They highlight areas in the Bourgogne or Macon appellations with specific characteristics. This narrows the wine down to a village, such as Macon-Uchizy, Macon-Lugny or Bourgogne épineuil, to name just a few; to a distinct part of a region, such as Bourgogne C?te Chalonnaise or Bourgogne Hautes C?tes de Beaune; or even to a climat, such as Bourgogne La Chapelle Notre-Dame and Bourgogne C?te Saint-Jacques."

"Bourgogne and Macon, plus the geographical denominations, are a true gateway to Bourgogne terroir, whatever the occasion or meal," says Moreau. "Often ready to drink from a young age, they marry with a wide range of diverse cuisines, and are also the perfect choice to enjoy at home with friends and family over a home-style Cantonese dinner."

Indeed, many of Burgundy's admired (and accessible) Bourgogne and Macon wines are especially complementary for Cantonese cuisine and its numerous culinary styles across Guangdong. The following six reds and whites can be purchased in Hong Kong with ease.