A few days after the Moon Festival, Chef Bruce said to me, “ We didn’t go out to admire the moon on the day of the Moon Festival. Don’t be disappointed. I will make a dish to make up for it.”

I was very confused by his words and had no idea what he was going to make . After kept bothering him for 10 minutes, I finally got the answer. So, today’s dinner is Chinese Pork Chop Burger with Red Cabbage Slaw.

Have you figured out the message that Chef wanted to convey? The dish resemble the moon hanging high with some could in the night sky. The fried egg resembles the moon; the red cabbage slaw is the cloud and the black plate represents the night sky. Isn’t this dish poetic? In order to reply back to Chef’s creation, I have picked a great bottle of wine to go with the dish and admire the moon with him on our dinner table. 

Food:

• Chinese Pork Chop Hamburger with Red Cabbage Slaw

Wine of my Choice: 

• G.D. Vajra Dolcetto d’Alba DOC Piedmont Italy 🇮🇹  2019

The Grape: Dolcetto 

Dolcetto, means “little sweet one” in Italian, referring to the sweetness of the grape at harvest. Dolcetto can be found mostly in Piedmont, Liguria and Sardinia. The origin of Dolcetto is unclear. Some believe it is native to the Monferrato area of Piedmont but Ligurians would oppose. A fun fact worth knowing is Dolcetto was the most widely planted grapes before the phylloxera. Dolcetto ripens earlier than Nebbiolo or Barbera. In general, It is planted in the vineyards above Nebbiolo or Barbera. 

Dolcetto wines are usually deep in color, with fragrant of macerated grape skin,  black fruit and licorice. It is soft, round with low acidity, grainy tannins , and finished with pleasant almonds at the end. The style of Dolcetto can range from early drinking to full-bodied wine with structure, complexity and aging potential. 

The Producer: G.D. Vajra 

Taking over the realm of Vajra in 1968, Aldo Vaira, a nineteen years old boy, brought new visions and commitment to the estate. He switched to organic and biodynamic farming and received the first organic certification of the region in 1971. Furthermore, they revived Freisa, a long time forgotten local grape variety, in1980, and cultivated Rhine Riesling in Piedmonte. Yep, Riesling!  With Aldo Vajra's hard work, he has earned "the most modern of the traditionalist and the most traditional of the modernists.”

Now joined by their children, Giuseppe, Francesca, Isidoro, and an amazing team of young professionals, the Vajra family continues to evolve and produce wine that expresses the authenticity. As Giuseppe said, “ We love our wine to shine on the table with great food and great friends.”

Dolcetto is a variety that Aldo Vaira first fell in love with. It is also the most consumed wine if you ask the locals in the region. "Dolcetto d'Alba is one of the most gastronomic and modern variety from Piedmonte. It's an extremely lively wine with aromas of violet, blueberry and black pepper and it's very food-friendly too." Francesca, the daughter of Aldo Vaira, passionately described the wine. As Aldo puts it, "Dolcetto is a beautiful and vibrant wine with structure, tannins and finished with a pleasing almond finish. Viva Dolcetto."  

This Vajra Dolcetto d'Alba is made with 100% Dolcetto. It is aged in stainless steel tank in order to preserve the primary fruit aromas and flavors; therefore, this wine is juicy, delightful, and vivid with notes of black cherry, blackberry, fig, prune, and spice. Medium bodied with bright acidity and integrated tannins. It is my kind of Dolcetto. 

This wine paired with the Chinese Pork Chop Burger was unbelievably good. Chef marinated the pork chop with soy sauce, garlic, onion, ginger, Chinese Rice Wine, sugar and white pepper to add more flavors. But, the most critical component to bind the pork chop burger and Dolcetto is the ketchup. Surprised? The ketchup actually brings out the savoriness of pork chop and amplify the fruitiness of Dolcetto. Isn’t it amazing? Who knew the ketchup would be the turning point for this pairing. Take note and don’t forget to add ketchup if you are having the Chinese Pork Chop Burger with Dolcetto next time. 

*Watch G.D. Vajra’s official video below.

當多切托阿爾巴遇上一輪明月豬排堡

中秋節過後的某一晚，大廚跟我說：「中秋節時我們沒賞到月噎！沒關係，今天我做一道菜，不僅能讓你賞到月，還能吃一口吃了它。」老天，這到底是什麼宣言？而且最重要的是，到底是要做什麼菜啦？！在我盧了老半天後 大廚終於鬆口告訴我，他要做什麼菜。

各位觀眾，大廚上菜：一輪明月豬排堡佐紫高麗菜沙拉

各位看倌，看出來了嗎？黑盤呢，代表夜空，豬排上的荷包蛋就是那一輪明月啦！那紫高麗菜沙拉就是飄在夜晚空中的雲了。是不是很有創意？難得大廚這麼詩情畫意，我怎麼能辜負他的才情，當然要挑一瓶好酒，舉杯邀明月，對飲成四人！

餐點：

• 一輪明月豬排堡佐紫高麗菜沙拉

餐酒：

• G.D. Vajra Dolcetto d’Alba DOC Piedmonte Italy 🇮🇹  2019

葡萄品種：多切托（Dolcetto）

多切托，翻譯成義大利文是指小小甜甜的東西。在這裡是指當多切托成熟時，它的果實非常的香甜。多切托在義大利的皮埃蒙特、利古里亞及沙丁尼亞種植的面積最多。多切托的起源地眾說紛紜，有人認為他的原生地是在皮埃蒙特的蒙菲拉托地區。但住在利古里亞的人可不是這麼想的。他們認為多切托才是利古里亞當地的原生品種呢！很有趣的是，在葡萄根瘤蚜蟲病肆虐皮埃蒙特前，多切托葡萄的種植面積可是當地最大的。再者，多切托是屬於早熟型的葡萄品種。它比內比歐露及巴貝拉葡萄更為早成熟。因此，多切托葡萄通朝會種在比內比歐露及巴貝拉還有高海拔的地方。

使用多切托釀出來的酒，色澤深紅，幾乎呈現不透明的狀態。常伴著發酵過後葡萄皮的氣味，黑色水果及甘草的香氣。多切托飲來是口感溫潤，顆粒狀的單寧搭上柔和的酸度，尾韻則帶著微微的杏仁香。多切托酒風格多變，從易飲、清爽順口至果香濃郁、結構扎實的都有。有的甚至極具陳年潛力。

酒莊：G. D. Vajra

Vajra 家族從17世紀開始便在 Comune di Barolo 的最高地塊 Bricco delle Viole 種植葡萄了。其家族在1880年代晚期買下了這塊地後，仍持續的種植葡萄，將收成賣給當地釀酒的廠商。Aldo Vaira 在1968年時接下了家族的葡萄園，並決定開始從事釀酒事業，那年他才19 歲。年紀輕輕的他，滿懷理想與抱負，企圖帶領 Vajra 朝著自己所立下的願景，一步步的邁進。接管Vajra後，他所做的第一件事便是將葡萄園全面改為有機及自然動力農法栽培，並且在1971年時取得了有機栽種的認證。Vajra 是第一個在皮埃蒙特獲得有機認證的酒莊。他開創的先例還不是只有這一個。Aldo 在1980 年時開始著手復育一種已被遺忘的當地品種弗雷莎。此外，他還在皮埃蒙特開始種植德國麗斯玲。Vajra 在Aldo 的帶領之下，贏得了「在傳統酒莊中最現代的及在現代酒莊裡又是最傳統」的美名。

Aldo 的三個子女 Giuseppe, Francesca, Isidoro 及一支年輕的團隊加入 Vajra 後，Vajra 酒莊仍保持傳統，繼續釀造在他們心中認為最能展現其地域、風土條件的酒。擁有並保持對葡萄酒的熱情是 Aldo 傳遞給他的子女們如何經營好酒莊最好的座右銘。如同 Aldo 的兒子 Giuseppe 說的：「 當與家人朋友共享美食時，我們期待，我們所釀造的葡萄酒也能在餐桌上綻放其光彩，帶給大家美好的時光。」

多切托是 Aldo Vaira 開始在葡萄園工作後第一個愛上的葡萄品種。它也是當地人喝的最多的葡萄酒。Aldo Vaira 的女兒，Francesca 認為：「多切托阿爾巴是皮埃蒙特裡很現代的一種葡萄品種，也是非常適合搭配美食的葡萄酒。它非常地活潑、鮮活，並且擁有紫羅蘭、藍莓及黑胡椒的香氣。很適合搭著食物一起飲用。」莊主 Aldo Vaira 在其官方的宣傳影片中提到：「多切托是一款優美且具有活力葡萄酒，同時具備了結構及單寧，尾韻還帶著迷人的杏仁香氣。怎能叫人不愛它？多切托萬歲！」

這瓶香甜多汁的多切托阿爾巴由 100% 多切托釀製而成的。 這款酒選擇在鋼桶中熟成而不使用木桶的原因，最主要是想多切托的果香及其風味最大的保留，也因此，這瓶多切托不僅擁有豐郁的黑櫻桃、黑莓、無花果等等的果香，還襯著紫羅蘭及黑胡椒，丁香等香料的風味。飲來清爽宜人，果香四溢。爽脆的酸度加上單寧結構穩固，造就了這款多切托有骨有肉，穠纖有度。是一款非常適合第一次喝多切托的朋友們。

這瓶 Vajra 多切托阿爾巴搭配著中式豬排蛋堡一起飲用，簡直美味無敵，但千萬別忘了加番茄醬。加了番茄醬的中式豬排蛋堡與多切托結合，簡直是神助攻。不僅將豬排的鹹香提了出來，放大了多切托的果味，還柔化了咬牙的單寧，真的很神奇。沒想到平凡的番茄醬居然能起這麼美妙的化學效應，這也是做餐酒搭配才能遇到的另類驚喜呢！

義大利酒難道只能搭義大利菜嗎？嗯.... 我想你應該知道我會怎麼回答！