- The Towsontown Torch ©
- Posts
- 🍷 🥡 The Perfect Wine Pairings for Towson's Best Chinese Food
🍷 🥡 The Perfect Wine Pairings for Towson's Best Chinese Food
This week, the Sip is venturing out into the community to a BYOB restaurant you should definitely make time for!
Haley Shubert
May 15, 2025
The Weekly Sip with Haley
Hey Sippers! This week, I want to turn you on to a fantastic restaurant right in the heart of Towson. For those of you who appreciate traditional Asian flavors with modern local flair, Red Pepper Sichuan Bistro over on Allegheny Ave is the place for you! My friend Sarah (also now a Torch contributor, so go show her new column some love!) and I had dinner there a couple nights ago, and it was amazing! The food was delicious, the service was attentive without hovering, and the ambiance was gorgeous. We had so much food and every bite was better than the last. Good news for me and for you, they’re also a BYOB venue, which means wine pairings galore, so let’s go!
What We Ate: Full disclosure, if you plan on visiting Red Pepper, go hungry! They are very generous with their portions and you won’t want to stop eating. We had the Sweet & Sour Cucumbers, Soup Dumplings, Sesame Cold Noodles, Sweet & Sour Pork Ribs with rice, and the Pumpkin Pancakes. We ate until we were totally stuffed and both of us still took home leftovers!
 Sweet & Sour Cucumber |  Soup Dumplings |
What We Drank:
I really wanted to commit to exploring a variety of foods and wines for this post, so you’re getting options this week! To start, we opened the 2023 Cantina Tramin Kellerei Selida Gewurztraminer from the Alto Adige region of Italy. Yes, I know some of those words look really German for an Italian wine, which they are, but don’t let that fool you. The people of Alto Adige are very proud of their bright, intriguing wines. This beauty is super floral on the nose with aromas of roses, lilies, dried herbs, and tropical fruits like lychee and mango. It’s rich in body without being heavy and is slightly spiced on the palate while maintaining those bright floral notes throughout. It paired perfectly with the cucumbers, soup dumplings, and pumpkin pancakes. |  “paired perfectly with the cucumbers, soup dumplings, and pumpkin pancakes” |
2024 Rose d’ Anjou from Domaine des Nouelles
 2024 Rose d’ Anjou from Domaine des Nouelles in Loire | Next up was the 2024 Rose d’ Anjou from Domaine des Nouelles in Loire, France. Round and fruity, medium dry, and with just a touch of residual sugar, this wine is the perfect match to exotic and spicy cuisine. Notes of ripe strawberries and red grapefruit leap out in front while softer notes of cream and lemon curd lend richness to both the flavor and texture. This also paired really nicely with the cucumbers as well as the sesame noodles and pork ribs. I would also recommend this with the more traditional Sichuan style dishes that lean more spicy. |
2023 Pierre-Marie Chermette Griottes from Beaujolais
We finished off the evening with the 2023 Pierre-Marie Chermette Griottes from Beaujolais, France. Crafted by a 5th generation grower, this wine is true to both the family history and the famous beauty of Beaujolais. It’s easy-drinking and showcases notes of violets, cherries, blueberries, and just a touch of earthiness for balance. Again, this wine was a fun surprise match to the cucumbers, as well as the soup dumplings, and pumpkin pancakes. |  2023 Pierre-Marie Chermette Griottes |
The Takeaways: For starters, apparently everything goes great with the Sweet & Sour Cucumbers. They had a bit of spice to them, making all three wine pairings work well, but all for completely different reasons. If you had to choose one wine for your dinner, I would say the rose is the most versatile option that would pair best with the majority of the menu.
For those of you interested in creating your own paired dining experience, shoot me an email at [email protected] or swing by the Spirit Shop Falls Road and see me! I would be happy to learn what you’re having for dinner and give you my recommendations for what to drink with what you’re eating. Bonus points if you bring me a plate! I hope you all go visit the folks at Red Pepper and enjoy your experience as much as I did. Happy sipping! -Haley
About Red Pepper Bistro
Relaxed BYOB eatery featuring Szechuan food, plus seafood, noodle dishes & soups.Service options: Vegetarian options · High chairs
Located in: Circle East
Address: 11 Allegheny Ave, Towson, MD 21204
Phone: (410) 832-7333
www.redpeppermd.com
