Jab a calendar and you'll find yourself not far off from a wine dinner in this city. This one is hopefully different. Ong YiXin from local wine distributor KOT Selections partners with chef whiz Sufian Zain to put on a dinner ($145) at Restaurant Ember, led by wines that are grown, plucked and cellared while being acutely attuned to their environments.
The byword here is 'biodynamic', and Ong's gathered five distinct French bottlings to match Sufian's cuisine. Dinner starts with an appetite-rousing Non-Vintage de Sousa & Fils Champagne Brut Rosé with a lightly sour edge, followed by a citrusy and dry 2013 Vincent Gaudry Sancerre La Tournebridge from the upper Loire Valley, which brings out the notes of ginger flower in a bonito tataki.
A bowl of capellini rich in kombu and sakura ebi is tempered by the zingy, creamy bodied 2012 Domaine Josmeyer Pinot Auxerrois Vieilles Vignes. The main course of quail with Japanese leeks and shimeji mushrooms gets added complexity from the earthy-dry, Syrah-dominant 2012 Alain Chabanon Campredon.
The refreshing end to the four-course meal is a champagne jelly, white peach sorbet and slices of sweet Japanese Yamanashi peach, which cleans up the palate along with a 2012 Eric Texier Opale (Viognier) that's bright and floral.
Book before July 31 for an early bird price of $135.