Pour de force

CHINESE

IN THEORY: Red with meat, white with fish, we've all heard it before, but at New York Vintners (21 Warren St between Broadway and Church St, 212-812-3999), Lynch is thinking about other things while choosing wine for our upcoming meal at Joe's Shanghai (9 Pell St between Bowery and Doyers St, 212-233-8888). "Pairing wine is mostly about what the protein comes with, like the sauces and sides," Lynch says. In the case of Chinese food, he's concerned with salt and spice. "I want to accommodate those two things, because you can't fight them."

He explains that big wines (high in alcohol and tannin, the astringent, mouth-drying component of certain reds) tend to exaggerate big flavors. "As I've tried wines with food, I've come to think the lower the alcohol and tannin, the better." Lynch looks for an off-dry (slightly sweet) white, and a light, low-alcohol red (look for bottles that are under 13 percent, and ask for lower tannins if you're unsure), ultimately picking a cru beaujolais. "It's like the cheap man's burgundy," he says. For the white, he chooses a vouvray, a Loire Valley wine that's dry but "gives an impression of sweetness."

THE WINES: Michel Guignier Morgon Reserve, Beaujolais, 2006 ($19.99); Pichot Vouvray Le Peu de la Moriette, 2007 ($15)

IN ACTION: We settle into one of the packed communal tables at Joe's Shanghai and order the crab-and-pork soup dumplings, Szechuan beef and General Tso's chicken. Lynch first samples the vouvray on its own. "See that?" he exclaims. "There's that little hint of sugar and then—bam!—the acidity hits." After trying it with the dumplings, he declares it a good match. "The wine's acidity really cuts through everything, while its sweetness offsets the salt and vinegar." The vouvray also works excellently with the chicken, their honeyed qualities complementing each other. Then he pours the beaujolais. The red is agreeable with the dumplings and the General Tso's—though not as good as the vouvray—but really shines with the beef. "As a red wine it's appropriate with the red meat," explains Lynch, "but because it's so light it has the qualities of a white wine, too, toning down the heat of the dish."

LESSONS LEARNED: Ignore high scores from critics, who tend to favor big wines, and look for low-alcohol, low-tannin reds and off-dry whites.

NEXT: Vegetarian

French | Chinese | Vegetarian | Indian | Pizza