Long, winy road

Chan can tell the flavor and origin of an oyster simply by looking at it and smelling it, so he had to explain the range of flavors in-depth to help Li better pair the wines.

"I ranked the oysters on a scale of 1 to 5 according to their taste, and discussed their flavors with Li in relation to the wine," says Chan.

According to Li, if there is one key point to consider when pairing wine with wild, natural oysters, it must be freshness-but there's a lot more to it than that.

"We could select wines from the same region as the oysters or match them with similarly flavored wine, but sometimes the opposite is true, such as in the case of mineral-flavored oysters, which work well with wine of a quite different flavor profile," she says.

After trying more than 100 types of wine, Li and Chan established a list made up of nine pairings-from fresh and crisp, to smooth and creamy, and complex and rich.

Li says it has been an interesting experience for her as her knowledge about oysters was quite limited before, so she's looking forward to continually updating the menu in different seasons.

In the future, Li aims to expand interest in wine culture across China, now that consumers are becoming more educated and more willing to try different varieties from niche wineries or wine-producing regions.