2026 Chinese New Year Wine Pairing Guide
Yu Sheng (Lo Hei)
Yusheng is the loudest dish on the table, in the best way. Crunchy vegetables, sweet plum sauce, crackers, and (usually) raw fish get tossed together while everyone shouts auspicious phrases. Every bite is different: sweet, tart, crunchy, fishy, then suddenly very peppery.
Because yusheng is all about contrast, you want a wine that is friendly, fruit forward, and not too serious. A heavy, tannic wine can taste bitter once the sweet sauce hits.
Wine pairing: Biscardo Neropasso Rosso Veneto 2022 (LNY Express)
Neropasso is smooth and plush, with ripe cherry and plum-like fruit and gentle tannins. That “soft landing” matters when the dish swings between sweetness, acidity, and raw fish.
A small Dutch hosting tip: yusheng is the start of the dinner, so pick something that makes people smile immediately. If your first bottle is too strict, the rest of the night feels like a tax audit.
Buddha Jumps Over the Wall (佛跳墙)
Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is deep, layered and umami driven. It has less overt sweetness and more long savoury resonance from dried seafood and slow cooked stock.
Wine pairing: Bodegas LAN Rioja Gran Reserva 2017 (LNY Express)
A Rioja Gran Reserva adds dried cherry, leather, tobacco, cedar and gentle spice. The fruit is more restrained, the oak is integrated, and the acidity is usually a touch higher. Tannins are present but polished.
Why it works:
The savoury notes in mature Rioja echo the umami depth of the soup. The freshness helps lift the richness, especially if the broth feels gelatinous or intense. This pairing feels more classic and restrained, less opulent but very harmonious.
When it works best: If the soup leans more savoury than sweet. If there is a strong dried seafood and stock character. If you want elegance over power.
Kong Bak Pau
A quick clarification: kong bak refers to the braised pork belly itself, usually cooked slowly with dark soy sauce, sugar, and aromatics until it becomes tender and glossy. Kong Bak Pau is the same pork served with a soft, white lotus leaf bun (often called gua bao style bun), which you use to wrap the meat before eating. In Singapore, the bun version is very common during festive meals because it makes the dish feel even more comforting.
That bun changes the pairing slightly. It adds softness and a gentle sweetness, and it makes the pork belly feel richer.
Wine pairing: Domaine du Vieux Lazaret Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2023 (LNY Express)
Châteauneuf-du-Pape is one of those wines that understands festive food. This one is full-bodied and concentrated, with ripe dark berries and a spicy, herbal edge that sits beautifully with soy braise and five-spice style aromatics.
Why it works: pork belly needs a wine with weight, but it also needs smoothness. This bottle has power without being aggressive, and it stays persistent enough to keep up with both meat and bun.
Sesame Soy Roast Chicken
Roast chicken looks simple, but the flavours can be surprisingly layered — soy sauce, sesame oil, aromatics, and sometimes a little sweetness in the glaze.
Here, you want a wine with structure, but not one that dries your mouth out.
Wine pairing: Château Rozier Saint Émilion Grand Cru 2020 (LNY Express)
Saint-Émilion often gives you a generous, plummy style of Bordeaux, with enough grip to handle roast meats, but usually smoother than the most “serious” Left Bank bottles. Château Rozier sits in that sweet spot: supportive, balanced, and family-dinner friendly.
Why it works: soy glaze and sesame oil want a wine that feels rounder rather than sharp. This does the job without stealing the spotlight.
Roast Duck (Cantonese or Teochew Style)
Roast duck is rich, slightly sweet, and unapologetically fatty. The skin is where the magic is, and the sauce (or drippings) often leans sweet-savoury.
This is where a bold, festive red makes sense. This pairing works best with non spicy roast duck styles, where sweetness and fat dominate rather than chilli heat.
Wine pairing: Biscardo Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG 2022 (LNY Express)
Amarone is made in a style that gives it extra concentration and that signature “dried fruit” richness. This Biscardo shows ripe cherry notes with a velvety texture and a long finish, exactly what duck likes.
Why it works: duck fat needs a wine that can match richness, and the subtle bitter almond note (classic in some Amarone styles) plays nicely with roasted skin.
Nian Gao and Sweet Chinese New Year Treats
Nian gao is the classic Chinese New Year sticky cake, usually made from glutinous rice flour and sugar. It is associated with the idea of “rising higher” year after year, which is why it appears so often during the season.
Sweet food and dry wine can be awkward together. If the wine is too dry, it can taste bitter next to dessert.
Wine pairing: Conte di Campiano Primitivo di Manduria Riserva 2021 (LNY Express)
This Riserva is full-bodied and rounded, with cocoa, coffee, and vanilla notes and a soft, opulent feel. It has enough richness to sit next to sticky sweetness without turning sour or thin.
Practical tip: serve it slightly cooler than room temperature, and it becomes a very comfortable “end of dinner” bottle.
CNY Peanut Cookies and Those Unhealthy Baked Snacks We All Pretend Not to Notice
Peanut cookies are buttery, nutty, slightly sweet, and somehow disappear faster than any other snack on the table. Add the usual supporting cast, love letters, fried crackers, random tins of mystery biscuits and you have something people nibble on all day.
You do not want a powerful wine here. You want something smooth and quietly generous, the kind of bottle that still tastes good when you are standing in the kitchen holding a cookie like it’s a micro-meal.
What works: soft reds with ripe fruit and gentle tannins. Nothing too dry, nothing too loud.
Wine pairing options:
Biscardo Neropasso Rosso Veneto 2022 (LNY Express)
Enigma Rubicone Appassimento 2023 (LNY Express)
Why it works: both wines are smooth, rounded, and easy to sip. They handle peanut flavours and savoury snacks without feeling sharp or “serious”. This is snack wine. And that is a compliment.
Hotpot (Spicy Broths, Mala, Pepper, Fatty Meats and Dipping Sauces)
Hotpot is not one dish. It is an entire evening with a lot of opinions. Mala broth, pepper broth, fatty beef slices, fishballs, mushrooms, dipping sauces and then someone adds more chilli because “not spicy enough”.
Spice makes pairing tricky because big tannins can feel harsher, and high alcohol can make heat feel hotter.
What works: fruity reds with warmth and softness. Avoid very high tannin and very high alcohol.
Wine pairing options:
Zolla Primitivo di Manduria 2021 (LNY Express)
Cielo Primasole Primitivo Puglia IGT 2023 (LNY Express)
Zolla gives you intense cherry and blackberry fruit with spice and a velvety texture, it is juicy enough to cool the fire. Cielo Primasole is warm, fruit forward, and uncomplicated, which is exactly what you want when the table is busy and the broth is loud.
Why it works: ripe fruit helps soften chilli heat, and these wines stay friendly over a long session.
Steamboat (Cleaner Flavours, Seafood, Sliced Meats and Lighter Broths)
Steamboat is hotpot’s cleaner cousin.
The flavours can be lighter, the broths often more delicate, and seafood plays a bigger role. That means the wine needs to be versatile: enough structure for meats, but not so heavy that it bulldozes prawns and fish.
What works: medium-bodied reds with balance and freshness. Versatile is key.
Wine pairing options:
Château Rozier Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 2020 (LNY Express)
Casa Ermelinda Dona Ermelinda Gran Reserve 2021 (LNY Express)
Château Rozier sits comfortably in the medium-bodied range and stays smooth enough for seafood. Casa Ermelinda brings darker fruit, spice, and a fuller body, great when the steamboat shifts towards more meats and richer dipping sauces.
Why it works: both wines can move across the table without needing a separate bottle for every ingredient (because nobody has time for that).
Other Popular Dishes and General Tips
About the Author
I am Dutch by background and practical by nature. I started Red Dot Wine to make good European wines more accessible in Singapore, without hype or pressure.
Our model is simple. We source directly and focus on value, the kind of bottles you can confidently open for friends, family, and the reunion table. For Chinese New Year, our Lunar New Year Express collection is designed for the last-minute reality of festive hosting, with wines already in stock and delivered fast.
My approach to wine is the same as my approach to Dutch cycling: steady, sensible, and you should still enjoy the ride.
