Sweet and Sour Pork

Sweet and Sour Pork

Sweet and sour pork is battered and fried, then coated in a bright, sugary, vinegared sauce with pineapple and peppers, so the sauce is the whole challenge: the wine must be at least as sweet as it is, or it will taste sour, and high enough in acid to cut the fried batter. An off-dry to medium aromatic white is the answer. Avoid dry wines.

Pairs Perfectly

An off-dry Riesling, Mosel Spätlese, Germany. Its gentle sweetness matches the sauce while the racing acidity cuts the fried pork.

Pairs Well

A Chenin Blanc from Vouvray, demi-sec, France. Apple and quince with bright acid meet the sweet-sour sauce on its own terms.

A Torrontés, Salta, Argentina. Floral and off-dry, a fragrant New World white that lifts the fruity sauce.

Avoid

Dry wines of any colour, which taste sharp and sour beside the sugary sauce.

Failing That

A Prosecco, Italy.

If All Else Fails

White Zinfandel, California.

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