Marriages made in heaven

TUCK INTO A forkful of som tam, the famed Thai papaya salad with sweet, tangy and spicy dressing and wash it down with a gulp of chardonnay and you’ll probably find yourself wishing you’d stuck to beer.
While many people do drink wine with Thai food, it’s safe to say that they are usually not perfect bedmates.
Kaffir lime, shallot, garlic, coriander root, bird’s eye chilli, lemon grass, galangal, coriander seed and basil might give Thai food its wonderful hot and spicy kick but, from this writer’s experience at least, they also murder a perfectly decent wine.
“I love to cook with spices,” says Blue Elephant’s master chef, Nooror Somany Steppe, as we relax over dinner at the Village Farm & Winery in Nakhon Ratchasima province.
“And I disagree with you. It is possible to match Thai food with any wine provided it’s cooked the right way.
To prove that Nooror is right about spicy food and wine, her restaurant Blue Elephant is collaborating with the Village Farm and Winery in organising a special wine dinner on March 6 at Blue Elephant Restaurant in Bangkok.
Nooror will be preparing five dishes of fine Thai food and matching them with a selection of equally find Village Farm wines.
A few journalists, myself included, were lucky enough to sample both menu and wines last week at Village Farm’s vineyard in Wang Nam Khiao. The small boutique winery’s reds, Chateau Des Brumes Le Prestige and Chateau des Brumes La Fleur, have earned awards from several wine competitions and its owner, Viravat Cholvanich, is well respected in the industry.
“First I study the wine, and then start to work out the ingredients,” says Nooror, as two spicy salads, Som Tam Jerusalem Artichoke and Lobster with Mulberry, are brought to the table
Jerusalem Artichoke, rarely seen on Thai menus, is native to North America, but is now cultivated in Wang Nam Khiao. It looks a lot like galangal root but tastes like jicama, the Mexican yam. When Nooror tosses it with som tam dressing and tops it with smoked trout, the result is amazing. She and Viravat pair the salad with a pinkish white wine made of Shiraz – a red grape. It’s not merely a beauty in the glass and also makes a bold statement that goes well with the tangy food.
“I like to cook with local ingredients and especially products from the Royal Projects. The trout, for example, is from the Royal Projects in northern Thailand, and the Jerusalem Artichoke is cultivated here,” she explains.
Four main courses are next to appear and introduced with due ceremony as Coconut Crab Dip & Rice Crackers, Golden-necked Pheasant Curry, Lamb Rack & Lemongrass Pepper Sauce and Baked Compote Thai Kaeng Liang.
For this special wine dinner, Nooror says she’s cooking Thai food with European tastes in mind. The compote of Thai kaeng liang is made from kaeng liang soup, sweet potatoes, lime basil leaves and French cheese. A few eyebrows are raised at the mention of the cheese but the surprise quickly evaporates as we discover the delicious taste. Viravat pairs it with his Chateau des Brumes 2005 La Fleur – the winery’s premium red wine.
“This wine is hardly found anywhere for the simple reason that it’s not for sale,” he says with a proud smile, explaining that the winery only produces 500 to 1,000 bottles per vintage. A beautifully balanced and complex wine produced from 40-per-cent cabernet sauvignon and 60-per-cent shiraz, La Fleur matures in oak barrels longer than any of the other wines and is the pride of Village Farm.
My favourite, though, is the Chateau Des Brumes 2009 Le Prestige, which is served with the tender lamb anointed with black pepper and lemongrass sauce. With a pepper note of its own and a beautiful aroma, Le Prestige is probably less complex than La Fleur but I’m immediately hooked.
“I don’t know how to put this is in the vocabulary of wine,” I tell Viravat.
“Since I spend more time with women than wine, I will try and compare it to the fairer sex. To me, Le Prestige is a thirty-something woman. Not so young and not old, but well-balanced, charming and sophisticated. You definitely want to spend more time with her.”

The special wine dinner will take place on March 6 at Blue Elephant Restaurant on Sathorn Road. The five dishes to be prepared by Nooror will be paired with Village Cellar, Chateau Des Brumes, Chateau Des Brumes Le Prestige, Chateau Des Brumes La Fleur 2005 and the Rose Ma Cherie. It’s priced at Bt3,000 a head.

You can reserve by calling 0(02) 673 9353-8 or e-mailing [email protected].