Asia Sentinel’s Curtis Marsh examines the evolution of white wine consumption in Asia with an inclination towards chardonnay
As wine consumerism evolves in Asia, it is interesting how some of the fashions that profoundly affected the world wine stage in the past have completely eluded the wider Asian market.
You may recall the ABC (anything but chardonnay) syndrome. That is practically irrelevant in the Asia market, unless you want to change it to ‘another brilliant chardonnay,’ as that is exactly the state of play. The Asian palate has embraced the lustre of the variety.
While the propensity towards richer, full-bodied reds remains, white wines are gaining popularity, particularly in terms of pairing with food, particularly with the prevalence of seafood, poultry and pork dishes here. Observing that local palates are less-enamoured with crisp, aromatic whites that have edgy acidity, there appears to be a clear preference for the richer, nutty-savory, buttery flavors and oily textures of chardonnay.
At same time, the rest of the wine-drinking world is also rediscovering chardonnay’s brilliance, bringing about a renaissance and marked change in style with much leaner and refined wines expressive of their regional characters, by comparison to the formulaic, oak-dominant, commercialized wines of 1980s that led to the demise of chardonnay’s popularity.
