How do you pair a wine with Sichuan chicken in peppercorn lava or sweet, saucy hongshao rou?Wine pairing with Chinese food is possible, but does require significant experience. Here’s a list of suggestions, courtesy of the experts: sommeliers Jean-Marc Nolant of Park Hyatt Shanghai and Philippe Huser of Napa Valley Wine Bar & Restaurant.

Rule 1: Avoid foods that require dipping in vinegar

For meals that include foods like xiaolongbao, hargow and potstickers, Jean-Marc Nolant recommends to “just pass on the wine.” According to Nolant, the acidity of vinegar can linger in your mouth and change your entire taste perception.

But dishes flavored with vinegar in the cooking process, say sweet and sour Zhejiang ribs, are more easily paired with wine since the vinegar is neutralized and caramelized with the sugar, explains Nolant. “A Malbec from Argentina, a typical New World type of flavor profile, perhaps with a plummy character and aroma of leather, dried tobacco, cedar and a bit of vanilla oak, would hold up [with this type of Chinese food].”

Rule 2: Make sure lighter flavored dishes are served first

In China, all your dishes are cooked and delivered to your table at the same time regardless of what “course” they belong to. Nolant recommends that three wines with distinct flavor profiles be served at a banquet style Chinese meal, or, at the very least, one red wine and one white wine. Wines have to be served from the lightest to strongest — generally, that means white, then red — for the structure and intensity of each to be fully understood, so dishes have to be served in that order as well.

“For example, if I give you a big Australian shiraz followed by a light pinot noir from Burgundy, chances are you won’t fully appreciate the Burgundy,” he explains. “That’s why it’s very important that the braised pork comes after the steamed garoupa.”