Bibimbap Power Ranking
Wandering around Seoul’s streets you’ll come across a myriad of restaurants. There is something for all tastes, ranging from those luxurious Italian-fusion restaurants that serve classic dishes revisited according to the Eastern flair, to the small bistros where they cook specialties from all over the world, not to mention those that offer the great Imperial Cuisine, albeit, in the end, the most intriguing thing is the simple street food.
Which wine should we pair with Bibimbap?
Forget about the tannins, because the greasiness is bone dry and also bitter (sesame oil). And about bold reds too; be careful with oaked wine, which don’t get along with the spiciness. Nevertheless we need a steady, structured and above that has a salty thickness: with these premises the only choice is a white.
What do we have in the pot?
11. Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze 2010, Nino Franco, Veneto
An amazing Prosecco. The symphony of scents of citrus, pear, apple, mango, aromatic herbs such as marjoram and bay leaf, magnolia, gardenia and rose, gives body to this wine. There is no tannin, but bubbles (fine) and flavor are more than enough. Excellent also for a hot Bibimbap: the bubbles will help to tame the fire.
10. Soave Classico Le Bine de Costìola 2012, Tamellini, Veneto
9. Colli Orientali del Friuli Friulano Vigna Bocois 2012, Ronco delle Betulle, Friuli Venezia Giulia
If the previous wines were flirting with the Bibimbap, this one takes off the gloves to face it nastily: its extremely consistent and herby saltiness is composed of many layers, good for all the vegetables present in the dish. Seaweeds, peaches, golden damsons, toasted hazelnuts, lime, are smoothly blended and they create a charming harmony with the umami.
8. Erbaluce di Caluso La Rustìa 2012, Orsolani, Piedmont
An elegant wine, blasting mineral flashes of chalk and baked flowers, with all the qualities that make this variety so remarkable brought to the peak. A warm, supple wine yearning for a tasty vegetarian dish: the glycerol is perfectly dosed and the balance coming from the combination of the warm, fruity nuances—thyme, acacia, grapefruit, peach, lily—and both seaweeds and spring onions is refreshingly engaging. Try to avoid an excess of spiciness that would spoil a so fine wine.
7. Vernaccia di San Gimignano Sanice 2012, Vincenzo Cesani, Tuscany
Such a spirit depth and power is not easy to find in a wine, especially in a white wine, but this bottle is one of the brightest member of the Vernaccia family. The fruit is meaty and titillating: you can chew slightly backed damsons and mashed mango along with an incredible minerality, pushed by a sharp, mellow acidity that evokes a sea of brooms, making the wine exciting by itself, but which becomes stunning when combined with soy sauce. Also in this case, given the neat smoked/spicy hints due to the oak, be careful with the piquancy.
6. Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore Il Coroncino 2012, Fattoria Coroncino, Le Marche
It manifests its great personality through the yellow color. Its vest is golden bright, the flavors are an overwhelming rainbow of glittering flowers and fruits, like rose, broom, pineapple in daisy infusion, peach, lemon peel and above all the sun that dries the water of the sea on the rocks. The pairing with Bibimbap is justified by the salty and aromatic—rosemary and sage—thickness that slowly fades away into the soy sauce darkness. Fabulous.
5. Trebbiano d’Abruzzo Vigna di Capestrano 2012, Valle Reale, Abruzzo
The most original Trebbiano for taste, authenticity and courage of all Abruzzo, is a complex and structured wine, unfiltered and with a intriguing bouquet. Dried yellow flowers, medlar, tea, peach jam, barley immersed in an infusion of rock herbs. The body is solid as a rock chiseled by the wind and claim a dish as multifaceted as Bibimbap.
4. Ribolla Gialla Think Yellow 2012, Primosic, Friuli Venezia Giulia
Citrus, lemon peel and linden blossoms are making love, a sheaf of aromatic herbs spread freshness around, a zip of peach and then again that citrus blade that keep teasing your tongue along with blossoms of elder flower and hawthorn. Its slim and dynamic profile is the ideal to fit all the nuances of a Bibimbap seasoned with a touch of hot sauce.
3. Costa d’Amalfi Furore Bianco Fiorduva 2012, Marisa Cuomo, Campania
This white wine keeps getting better and better every year. The austere, passionate magnificence with which can charm you is amazing, it’s useless to try to resist. Body and elegance due to endless suggestions: peach and acacia, hazelnut wrapped in a hawthorn lake, a refreshing touch of baked pear hatched by a creamy, mineral melody that surfaces from time to time. The acidity is perfect, juicy and continues to impress for its tyrannical beauty. It is not cheap, but not many wines can say to have a soul.
2. Alto Adige Valle Isarco Riesling Kaiton 2012, Kuen Hof, South Tyrol
A monumental, golden Riesling that opens up with a powerful, zippy mineral rush to the nose. The body is a granitic massif from which flow shimmering streams of grapefruit, chalk, gunflint, tangerine peel, guava, stone, lavender, green tea and green apple that give the wine a crunchy persistence. A dry and crystal wine that for its spartan beauty reminds the Bibimbap: simple, with no frills yet delicious.
1. Collio Pinot Grigio 2009, La Castellada, Oslavia