About the series:
The series stars Eddie McDougall – the passionate and renowned owner of The Flying Winemaker boutique wine gallery in Hong Kong – who is on a mission to revolutionise the way people consume and enjoy Asian food and wine. The series follows Eddie pairing Asian cuisine with wines that are being produced internationally and in the wine industry’s fastest growing market, Asia. Along with fellow Australian, UK and U.S. food and wine experts, Eddie travels to China, India, Malaysia, Japan, and Thailand in search of fantastic dishes and renowned ingredients. He visits local food markets, restaurants and community meeting places, combining wines with exotic flavours and showcasing how Asian meals can be enjoyed with local wines, as well as wines sourced globally.
The Flying Winemaker is produced by WD Entertainment Group (WDE). ABC Commercial has worldwide distribution rights.
TV ASIA Plus met McDougall recently to find out more about the series.
Q: What’s the focus of this series when it comes to food, wine and travel?
A: It’s not as simple as a food and wine and travel show. It’s actually kind of an epic journey that I’m taking people on. And it’s sort of living my life really but taking that to an extremity where we’re pushing boundaries and trying new flavours in terms of new wines and new foods – or traditionally well-known foods in that particular culture but not outside. But I take the snobbery out of wine and put it on the table in a friendly and approachable way so that people aren’t intimidated and people are willing to explore themselves; are empowered, are more confident to the point where they can use it immediately.
From the day I started making wine, I realised that there was always a gap in the wine market – a super high end and then a super low end. And there’s a big, chunky part in the middle that everyone forgot about, that no one really cared about. The people who are using it on a daily basis actually would like to know more but don’t have the time or don’t have the patience to understand all that wine because it’s so intimidating. And even with food as well.
Q: Tell me about the locations in this series?
A: We go to countries like India, Malaysia, Korea, Thailand – places whether you believe it or not they actually produce wines as well. Believe it or not, they produce wines in Bali.
Q: Oh I didn’t know that.
A: Exactly. So I found these crazy wineries where there are vineyards planted in Bali; and I’m looking for the best Balinese wine to go with the Nasi Gorengs and the Nasi Lemaks or whatever they may be. To the point where we go to India and it’s up in the hills of Bangalore, finding the best wines to go with the best Chicken Tikka Masala or even something simple as the grandma’s Garlic Naan from the vendor down the road. And the creative team is also focusing on finding people who also have a story, and me following them as a friend or as a stranger walking into someone else’s life, and me as that wine guy coming with “Hey I’ve got the perfect wine for you,” – I’ve always used wine as a social glue.
Q: What does “taking the snobbery out of wine” mean?
A: Wine on all occasions, any place, any time. It doesn’t need to be in a fancy crystal glassware, it doesn’t need to be sitting down with silver cutlery and polished plates. It is Singaporean hawker market style, it is Dai Pai Dongs in Hong Kong, it is fresh seafood put on the table, cooked in front of you, with a crackling bottle of Riesling. It’s not about the stemware. It is not about the utensils. It is about the experience, the people, the flavour. It’s about expressing that story in the bottle rather than talking about it in such a way that people just can’t understand it. So it’s communicating that in a really grassroots level.
Q: The wine story that’s accessible to everybody?
A: (nods) A lot of Asians – I’m half Asian as well – find wine difficult to integrate into their eating habits and consumption habits. So it’s really about opening those doors (for them). It’s ok to have a glass of Riesling with your range of Chinese vegetarian dishes or Mutton stir-fry or something like that, and showing people that if “I’m doing it, you can do it too.”
