To be complacent means that you are pleased with yourself or your merits and advantages or the situation you are in: basically, being self-satisfied, writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER. 

On my return from a holiday in Japan, I was fighting complacency in the context of being entirely happy with my wine choices, not even trying to match an unknown brand or varietal with the food I was eating. I had a lot of catching up with friends to do and, unusually, I went out to dinner twice in one week. 

The first occasion was with six others in a Thai restaurant in Griffith that permits BYO. In the past I had bought a Wicks Estate Pinot Rose’ 2022 at around the $20-$25 mark to match with Thai food and, according to my wine spreadsheet notes, I had found that it goes well with mild curries, especially seafood-based curries. 

So, as soon as I saw that it was for sale at $22 in the supermarket close to the restaurant, I pounced. It didn’t disappoint. It is a dryish rose’ from the Adelaide Hills, which is one of the coolest wine regions in SA so pinot noir grows well and it is fresh, light and doesn’t have the unripe flavours that can spoil the wine made from this delicate grape grown in too warm climes. 

The Wicks rose’ is able to be quaffed as an aperitif because it has such a clean finish and it cut through the coconut flavours of the Thai curries with just the right amount of acid. 

Others had brought different wines to match: a riesling, an oaked chardonnay and even a Ravensworth 2022 Regional Sangiovese ($32) that, while very pleasant, with a perfumed red berry knockout bouquet, I don’t think matched the food as well as the rose’. It was good to try a soupcon of the other wines, but I stuck with a wine that reinforced my earlier position and I was happy.

The second occasion was also at an Asian restaurant, this time in Manuka where they permit BYO for a $14 charge. We had ventured into Vintage Cellars, again because of proximity to the restaurant, and boom, there was a 2021 Pankhurst Wines Arneis reduced from $30 to $27. 

I have previously in this magazine waxed lyrical about the 2019 vintage of this wine, calling it full bodied and noting that it finishes cleanly with a good weight and mouthfeel. 

I was supporting the local and again reinforcing my earlier opinion by buying this wine to go with spicy chicken and twice-cooked duck. 

The wine stood up to these dishes showing real depth and a long flavour spectrum. Arneis pairs wonderfully well with light proteins such as chicken or seafood, especially where there is a mixture of fresh herbs that match with its aromatic characteristics. The complementarity made me smile, as did the fact that the Pankhurst family continue to make an excellent value-for-money wine. 

But at this dinner, I realised that in both my recent choices of wine, I’d been firmly in my comfort zone. 

So when I got home from the second dinner, I looked up tips for avoiding complacency. And saw the number one tip of a successful CEO: “There is nothing more powerful than getting actionable feedback that kicks you out of complacency.” 

Hence, my question to readers: do you have a favourite wine that goes with Asian food, preferably local, that you recommend I should try? Please let me know. I can then follow Kafka’s advice – “Always first draw fresh breath after outbursts of vanity and complacency” – and draw a fresh breath after this outburst of complacency!

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