What are you drinking at home?

Sommelier Alison Christ’s favourite wines for home delivery

Words: Alison Christ

One evening on an adventure with Monica, we were chatting about my new “day job” since the world has come to a partial stop. After two decades of “working the floor,” recommending wine to my clients at their dinner table, I’ve had to adapt and shift and grow (like all of us have had to in this unforgettable year of 2020). I am grateful for the opportunities and the creative ideas I’ve been blessed with and for the amazing people that trust me with one of the biggest decisions they have to make all day… What am I drinking tonight!?

Now that I can’t come with you to your table any more, I can still go with you in spirit and the bottle. Monica suggested I do an article about my top picks for home delivery, I thought it was a great idea, so here I am with my top ten.

The first thing I need to mention as a preface is that by the nature of the wine industry in Malaysia, all the good sensibly priced wines are in short supply and high demand. So if you want something I mention here, you should tell me today. It’s entirely possible that as I am finalizing the edits to this story – some wines will have been depleted. Hopes are high that I have at least 24-36 bottles of everything mentioned in the following article. 

Getting back to the subject of drinking at home, I came up with some subcategories, as you will see. Under normal circumstances, there would be a Best Party Wine – but since parties are illegal now, I won’t mention that. If you are (hypothetically of course) planning a party and want recommendations, just send me a message. 

Best Day Drinking Wine

I won’t lie; I don’t remember ever turning down a day drinking session. I’m sure Monica would agree (but I’ll let you ask her). Day drinking is best with friends on a sunny afternoon while someone else is cooking for you. I suppose the most dignified of day drinking would be considered brunch. I’ve made up my own Urban Dictionary term here…Day Drinking Brunch: a small but intimate group of friends gather together and eat as much duck rillettes and salt-baked trout as possible, while simultaneously throwing back (as if it were the very last day they were ever going to drink again) as many bottles of Crémant sparkling wine as possible. A big faux pas to avoid here is switching to Champagne halfway through – this could be a terrible waste of Champagne. More Crémant – keep it coming please! While good (sustainable) inexpensive sparkling wine is almost as rare as a unicorn, (I am crazy for publishing it) this is the best day drinking wine around. Côté Mas Crémant de Limoux Brut is a beautiful wine for the quality-price ratio. If you love Champagne, this méthode traditionnelle sparkling is the best alternative.

Best Poolside Wine

You’re in the pool, you’re hot and wet and thirsty (let’s pretend we are allowed to be in our pools). Pink, we must have pink! Real men drink rosè and real women too. I don’t feel so bad about pouring Franck Massard `Mas Amor’ Rosado into my pool-friendly reusable plastic wine glasses. These things have been around the block with me, junk trips in Hong Kong, deserted beaches in Cambodia, the Wonderfruit Music Festival in Thailand and now in the infamous Desa Kudalari pool in KLCC. Pour me some Mas Amor and everything is good to go. For the sake of our future pool usage, let’s take a moment and focus together. If we all think about drinking Rosè in our pools as a collective, maybe the pools will miraculously reopen and everyone can drop a bottle in some ice and enjoy a beautiful day swimming. 

Best Stay in Bed Wine 

I don’t know about you but my dream morning is waking up, and the person next to me says “good morning, don’t get up I have something for you” and comes back with a bottle of Champagne Pol Roger Réserve Brut (the one with the white foil). I like that one a lot. My friend has also prepared poached eggs and blueberry pancakes. I look over and say “thank you Pol or Roger or who are you anyway”?!? “Whatever, it doesn’t matter, thank you for the lovely breakfast; may I have some more Champagne please”? 

Last year when we still had the privilege of travel, I was able to visit the Pol Roger winery in Champagne, and I spent an unbelievable day being wined and dined and educated. It was truly a remarkable experience. Pol Roger is about luxury and spoiling yourself. Luckily for us, the price of the Brut is approachable. So, if we can’t go to Champagne, bring the Champagne to bed!

Best Saturday Afternoon Swing Wine

I can’t remember who said it to me, but I know you’re out there. You said ‘there are two kinds of wines; those meant for drinking with dinner and those meant for drinking on a swing”. Normally I would say new-world wines fit the swing category. Still, I have an old-world red that goes great with a swing, in other words, you can easily finish a bottle of Paras Balta “Indegena” Garnacha without food. While you may need to Google the pronunciation of “Indegena” you won’t need anything but a wine glass to sit back and enjoy this biodynamic wine made by a female winemaking team. While sitting on my swing, sipping this juicy Garnacha I like to think of my good friend Maxime from the winery, we met in Hong Kong almost a decade ago and have since been able to drink wine around the world together. I look forward to sharing a glass again soon. 

Best Home Cooked Dinner Wines

Here are some of my favourites that I can recommend with confidence, along with some food pairing ideas.  

Old World Italian Dinner

There are many reasons why I love Scarbolo Sauvignon Blanc; it’s a crowd-pleaser, it’s family-owned and made with love, it has beautiful cool climate acidity that makes it great for pairing with food. Sauvignon Blanc from Italy, you might be asking? Thanks to the lands microclimate, Scarbolo can produce a unique Sauvignon. Mattia Scarbolo told me his preferred food pairing is Frito Misto with artichoke and squid. On his last visit to KL, he tried Kampachi with Uni and Truffle Tataki, which he highly recommends (regular sushi works great too).  

Moving on to the main course in our-old world Italian dinner is a wine that’s been around since 1834, Bruno Rocca Barbaresco, Nebbiolo from Piedmont, Italy. Having worked in Barbaresco for the 2009 harvest, I have a soft spot in my heart for this amazing wine region. Bruno Rocca is organically farmed and made by natural yeast fermentation. The wine spends 18 months in French barrique and another 8 months in the bottle. With this oak and the natural tannins from the Nebbiolo, I would recommend decanting for an hour before serving. A typical dish in Piedmont with Nebbiolo would be wild boar ragù with fresh shaved white truffle. These might be difficult to find in KL so homemade Bolognese with Tagliatelle would be an utterly delicious alternative. 

New World Asian Dinner

I love an off-dry Riesling with spicy Asian cuisine, the touch of sweetness helps to balance out the heat from the dish. Small Fry Off-Dry Riesling from the Barossa Valley is a beautiful, small production family made wine. This Riesling is the first fully certified biodynamic wine made by husband and wife team Wayne and Suzi of Small Fry. The grapes are grown 50k from the sea and the wine reflects a natural minerality and salinity. A girlfriend of mine, and fellow Yum List contributor; Kitty, made a kick-butt Thai Red Curry last weekend with red curry paste (if you want to impress your friends you can make the paste – consisting of 15 ingredients – from scratch), coconut milk, fish sauce, a little sugar, and kaffir lime leaves. According to Kitty, it’s easy to make at home as long as you have the 4 S’s are balanced; sweet, sour, salt and spice. The Small Fry Riesling is awesome with this style of curry. 

For a red option with your spicy Asian pairings, I always recommend a fruity new-world Pinot Noir. Schubert `Selection’ Pinot Noir from Wairarapa, New Zealand is one of the best quality-price ratio wines on the market. Schubert Pinot with medium spicy chicken madras is one of my go-to pairings. I feel compelled to mention that Kai and his wife Marion also make stunning organic single-vineyard Pinot’s that should be on any Burgundy lovers Christmas wish list. These wines have superb aging potential; a small quantity of 2013 and 2015 are available in KL.  

Best Natural Wines

I can’t leave out one of the loves of my life, natural wine! You may be wondering what the difference between organic, biodynamic and natural wines are…well good question. I teach an entire class on this, so it’s not possible to explain it all to you in this article. To keep things simple, let’s say natural wine maybe all of the above and most importantly contain only fermented grapes, no added sulphites or chemicals. Some natural wines can be completely `normal’, and some can be fun and funky. While I love some conventional wine as well, natural wine offers an alternative to the everyday monotony of commercialization. 

Last year I was able to spend two weeks visiting natural and bio wine shows across France. The stand out from that trip for me is Clot de L’Origine `LeTrouble Fait’ orange wine by Marc Barriot from the Murray area of France. If you’ve never heard of orange wine, let me explain. I can assure you no oranges are involved in the winemaking process. The term comes from the colour of the wine, which is a result of skin contact from the grapes. The colour and all the antioxidants are found is in the skins. I love orange wine for several reasons; it has health benefits like red wine does (white does not) as all the good stuff is found in the skins. Orange wines are extremely versatile for food pairings. They are served chilled but have the structure of a red, a perfect compromise when you can’t decide on a white or a red. 

If you find yourself stuck at home more often than you like, wine will definitely help the situation. Wine delivery is awesome because you don’t have to leave the house or carry heavy bottles home from the store. Feel free to send me a message if you’d like wine at home for the holidays or for any days!

Wine List – in order of appearance:

NV Côté Mas Crémant De Limoux Brut, Languedoc, France RM150

2018 Franck Massard `Mas Amor’ Rosado, Catalonia, Spain RM105

NV Champagne Pol Roger Réserve Brut, Reims, France RM330

2018 Parés Baltà `Indegena’ Garnacha, Penedés, Spain RM148

2018 Scarbolo Sauvignon Blanc, Friuli, Italy RM120

2016 Bruno Rocca Barbaresco, Piedmont, Italy RM260

2018 Small Fry Riesling, Barossa Valley, Australia RM130

2018 Schubert `Selection’ Pinot Noir, Wairarapa, New Zealand RM110

2013 or 2015 Schubert `Marions Vineyard’ Wairarapa, New Zealand RM195

2019 Clot de L’Origine `LeTrouble Fait’, Roussillon, France RM170

Reasons to order: mention The Yum List and receive special discounts on home delivery, home sweet home, stay safe, wine makes you happy, free delivery.

Sommelier Alison Christ
WhatsApp +60 18 236 3952
Email: [email protected]
Next Day Delivery Hours Monday – Friday