Uncomplicated Pairing

Recently, a friendly wine retailer suggested that I try a simple pairing of shiraz with our local Bee Cheng Hiang's barbecued bacon slices sandwiched in a baguette loaf (buttered or otherwise). Unlike the normal "bak kwa" which has been trimmed of fat, these barbecued strips of sweet-marinated dried bacon with their smoky flavors looked incredibly sinful with their very visible fatty layer but are so very tasty.

The MadFish Shiraz 2003 from Margaret River, Western Australia, with its attractive aromatic bouquet of ripe fruit, intense dark cherry and plum flavors with spicy and peppery undertones, and soft tannins, is easy lovely drinking and to my pleasant surprise, complements quite well with the smoky meaty sweet-tasting bacon 'bak-kwa'.

And for me, this is the best way to drink wine - open up a bottle, slap something quick and easy together, sit back and just enjoy the company of those at the table and the simple pleasures that life presents - uncomplicated and fuss-free.

Checking out the MadFish's website, I found this interesting take on its name:
"The MadFish story begins in the far southern reaches of Western Australia where 15 kilometres from the quiet coastal town of Denmark is the picturesque MadFish Bay. According to local folklore, the bay’s tranquillity is broken when two tides meet, resulting in schools of small fish going mad…. Jumping about to avoid being gobbled up by hungry, larger fish."

And if you're wondering about the wine label design, featuring a turtle:
"The traditional aboriginal water turtle design on the label is a symbol of perserverance and tolerance - no doubt characteristics displayed by the [mad jumping] fish in MadFish Bay."

Next time I find myself in the middle of chaos, I shall try to bring to mind this image and pysche myself to be a tolerant perservering calm turtle in a sea of mad jumping fish!