Unique Wines and Traditional Recipes Combine Nicely at Ayara Thai

By Bryan Tsunoda on June 19th, 2015

Ayara Thai Cuisine is a family run restaurant located in Westchester. Around LA and beyond, they’re known for their traditional Thai dishes and bottled sauces available in the restaurant and online.

What they haven’t been known for is a wine list that matches the caliber of their food. Ayara Thai owner Vanda Asapahu is looking to change that.

After working with sommelier Courtney Walsh, the Ayara Thai team narrowed their list down to about 7 selections from boutique wineries that paired well with their dishes. Walsh recommended wines with a lower alcohol content, higher acidity and lower tannins to better match Ayara Thai’s bold flavors and spice.

Tubullent sparkling gamay paired with spring rolls

The South Bay Foodies were invited to learn more about Ayara’s new wine list and how they pair with some of the most popular dishes on the menu. The event was started with a hearty shout of “Chiyo Chiyo Chiyo!” or “cheers” in the Thai language.

A French sparkling gamay by Tubullent from the Loire Valley in France was served first. Hints of cherry and strawberry and some sweetness made the Tubullent gamay an ideal wine for most Thai food pairings. With the effervesce factor, I think this would be also be a great first wine if you are with a group and plan to order more than one bottle for the table.

Up next was the Poe Pinot, a Pinot Meunier Rose blending ⅔ Pinot Noir and ⅓ Pinot Meunier grapes. Given the French name, Pinot Meunier is popular in France and is mostly used to blend with other grapes. This rose does not have a lot of depth and is ideal for the beginning wine drinker. It also works with mild dishes like the spring rolls and would make an excellent picnic wine.

Papaya pok-pok salad

Next up was Precedent Chenin Blanc. Chenin Blanc has an undeserved bad reputation because it has been featured in jug and box wine offerings in the supermarkets. A small number of wineries are trying to overcome this stigma and are producing quality wines using the chenin blanc grape. Since Lodi California is the self-proclaimed “Zinfandel Capital”, I was surprised to see a Chenin Blanc offering from that area. The acidic nature of this wine made it ideal to pair against the spicy nature of Ayara Thai’s papaya salad.

Brooks Pinot Blanc, Muscat, Riesling, Pinot Gris blend

The Brooks Pinot Blanc-Muscat-Riesling-Pinot Gris blend was one of my favorite wines of the evening. It was crisp and the floral aromatics made it delightful to drink. While this was paired with their drunken noodle dish, I think the wine also stands up well to their appetizers: Ayara’s Toast, Golden Baskets and their veggie rolls.

Broc Counoise, Mendocino 2013

The fifth wine on the list was a rare one; only 52 cases of the Broc Counoise 2013 from Mendocino were produced. While this may seem like a lot of wine, this only ends up to be 2 barrels. Since it takes time to age wine in a barrel, the small amount allows the winemaker to focus a lot of attention and the result shows. The Broc Counoise has a great nose and is full of fruit. This wine paired extremely well with Ayara Thai’s salmon curry and due to the low tannins, it would probably pair well with any stir fried dish.

Next wine to be sampled was The Harrington Wines Carignane; it’s made from the lesser known carignane grape that is typically found in France and Spain. Harrington produces this wine from 100 year old vines that are dry farmed and organic (well suited for the California drought!) This earthiness of the wine married nicely to their beef dish, “When Tigers Cry”.

Poco a Poco Grenache Mendocino 2014

Chinese broccoli with pork belly

I was particularly intrigued with the final wine sampled, Poco a Poco Grenache 2014 from Mendocino. My exposure to the grenache grape is through rosé wines. Grenache is largely produced in Spain and France and not as well known in the US. This Russian River red wine is produced in the classic French style and stands up to well to fried foods. This paired quite nicely with the pork belly and chinese broccoli.

In the past, dining at Ayara Thai might have meant enjoying their incredible panang curry (one of my favorites) with a supermarket chardonnay. With their newly curated wine list, I’m happy to see that they have done an admirable job at pairing better suited wines with their bold flavors.

* Items mentioned in this article were provided on a complimentary basis for the purpose of this review. This story was accurate when it was published and reflects the uninfluenced opinion of the reviewer.