Hairy crab and Jura pairing launches in Macau

Fine dining restaurant, Jade Dragon at Crown Towers, City of Dreams will play host to the unusual pairing which combines Cantonese haute cuisine with vin jaune wines from the Jura.

Led by Jura winemaker, Frédéric Lornet, MS; wine director of Melco-Crown Entertainment’s Macau properties João Pires MS and Cottage Vineyards’ sales and marketing director, Ada Leung, the “Golden Autumn Hairy Crab Feast” will feature 10 specially selected courses and six Jura wines.

It is the first time that such a pairing has been launched and course highlights include pan-seared Kobe Wagyu beef with truffle, steamed garoupa fillet with aged Mandarin peel and preserved olive paired with a range of Jura wines made from grapes and by winemaking methods rarely found anywhere else including Trousseau, Macvin Blanc du Jura, Vin de Paille, and Crémant du Jura Rosé.

There will also be the chance to sample Frédéric Lornet’s delicate 2013 Chardonnay Les Messagelins with chef Tam’s boiled fish maw with crabmeat dumpling in chicken broth as well as the 2012 Arbois Naturé, a still white wine made from the Savagnin grape made in a fresh, unoxidized style paired to stir-fried vegetable with pork cracknels topped with Sakura shrimp.

Hailing the arrival of the late autumn season “dressed in a robe of gold,” the steamed whole hairy crab with yellow crab roe paired with the “mysterious” 2005 Vin Jaune, made from the evaporation of the Savagnin grape white wine under a flor of yeast over six years.

João Pires said: “I have always been fascinated with Jura wines, especially the Vin Jaune, but have always been very careful in introducing these into any establishment because these are really gastronomic wines. So I was delighted to find how well Jura Vin Jaune pairs with hairy crab roe.  Our promotion is the perfect occasion to introduce the territory to some of the wine world’s best kept secrets.”

Frédéric Lornet continued: “This the first time to pair my vin jaune with the hairy crabs in Macau and also to lead such an exclusive wine dinner in Macau.  I am so much looking forward to the experience.”

Tickets are MOP$1,600 plus 10% service charge. For Hong Kong residents unable to attend in Macau, there will be another Jura and hairy crab wine pairing event held the day before on 23 October on the roof deck of Shanghai Tang in Elements which will cost HK$1,430.

To book for either event, please contact Cottage Vineyards on Hong Kong 2395 1293 or via email.