Husband is becoming more and more interested in wine, and I get roped in to do the tastings and drinkings. Have to admit, sometimes the wine is more interesting than the food. And he has been very nice about it too, serving white wines even though he prefers reds because I am more partial to the whites. The very least I could do is to write some notes for my own education.

Yesterday I cooked Sunday lunch. Typical home-style menu of char-siew, quick-braise garoupa fillets, stir-fry asparagus and cabbage cooked with chilli-oil and dried shrimps, served with steamed rice. Dessert was a mellow tong-sui of fresh and dried wintermelons with lily bulbs. Everything, including dessert, served together.

To drink, he opened a bottle of Cullens blended Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc 2001. The aroma was mild and a slightly grassy. Crisp but not acidic, or like husband says, still young. Medium sweet, now the tastes are most difficult for me to describe but it tasted very much of the melons in the tong-sui. Went great with the char-siew (which was finished by the time I thought to take the picture so there is only the sauce to remind of it), and was also sturdy enough to take on the chilli-oil dried shrimps of the cabbage.

And for another weeknight dinner last week, he opened a bottle which he knew would please me very much. I love Sauternes, but this was old wine, and more complex than usual. The Rieussec 1975 is one of the most delicious sweet white wines I've ever drunk, I would say even nicer than Inneskillin icewines which are my all-time favourites. It is sweet, of course, but not syrupy, still very fruity but more textured, more layered. A little, not unwelcome, note of bitterness, husband says maybe the mould is starting to set in. Just as well we opened it then. The wine overshadowed the food, some everyday fare of fried chicken and stir-fried prawns and vegetables. No dessert that night, just another glass of golden ambrosia.