Angela's 5 tips for wine and curry matching

Life in the world of wine and food is never dull, and for the last couple of weeks, I’ve had the very tough job of judging some of the shortlisted restaurants in the Bath Good Food Awards – I know, hard work, but someone had to do it! This involved lots of mystery diner visits to assess them, from customer service, to quality of food, and of course, checking out the calibre of the wine list. My kids took the responsibility of judging the family friendly category very seriously of course, eating their way through mounds of pasta, chicken ramen, and chocolate cheesecake, and were shocked last weekend, when judging was over and they had to put up with Mum’s cooking again (it had been a nice break for me too!)

Judging the wine list category was a real eye opener in how some restaurants get it right, and some get it oh so wrong, and I’ll be writing more about matching wine and food over the next few weeks.

One of the categories that I was judging was for the Best Asian Restaurant… now this style of cuisine has always been a tricky one to match with wines, because of the assault of flavours and spices on the palate, and I know that many people either opt out and drink lager, or nervously choose the first wine on the list, as they really don’t know what will work. Click on our Facebook page to see some of the best wines to have with everything from Chicken tikka Massala to Beef Madras.

As it’s National Curry Week, I thought I’d tackle the subject of what wines go with Indian food (and lots do, by the way), and I’ve compiled my top wine matches for the UK’s top 10 favourite curries. Last year I was very lucky to do an Indian food and wine pairing session, with one of london’s top chefs, Vivek Singh, from the well known Cinnamon Club, and to spend a bit of time in the kitchen with him. I was amazed at the array of spices and herbs they use, and the precision with which they use them, to create some truly outstanding dishes… the experience was a complete assault on the senses – the aromas, the flavours, the speed of cooking, all delivered with such passion! So why ruin a good curry, or a good bottle of wine by putting it with the wrong partner? And believe me, curry can make some wines taste like paint stripper! As I always say with wine, there’s no right or wrong.

Here are a few guidelines 

1. The main rule is to go for wines that can cope with all the spices; it’s not the spices themselves that create the heat in Indian cooking, it’s the different types of chillies. Spices give aroma and flavour, chillies provide the heat. A delicate, creamy pasanda or masala will cope far better with a lighter wine, than a full on Madras or Vindaloo! 

2. Always veer towards, aromatic, fruit driven wines; you don’t want tannic reds, they will taste terrible! Look for very fruity whites, low tannin, juicy reds, and try my favourite secret weapon for curry… fruity Rose! Honestly, it’s one of the best possible matches, with the lively, strawberry fruit flavours and zestiness of these wines. Make sure you choose one which is not overly dry, and has lots of juicy fruit; that edge of sweetness will mean the wine is not overwhelmed by the food.

3. White wines are easy… go for aromatic styles, such as Riesling, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc and even Gewurztraminer; the Casillero del diablo Gewurztraminer is a real favourite of mine with hot curries. Avoid oaky whites, and over-delicate whites – they will clash, or simply give up and die! 

4. Give Rosé a go, in my food and wine pairings it comes out tops time and time again. Decent sparkling wine (especially Rosé) or Champagne, with Indian style canapés and party food is a winning combination also.

5. Reds are slightly more tricky, but you just need to follow a few simple rules… ripe, juicy, fruity! Don’t go near anything with heavy tannins, the wine and the Indian dish would mutually self destruct! But do try soft, ripe reds such as Pinot Noir, Grenache, and some soft, lighter style Merlots. Bolder reds can cope with curry , but again make sure the intensity and the sweetness of the dish match the wine. Big bold Aussie Shiraz and the velvety Californian Zinfandel are perfect partners, but another lesser known, but brilliant match is the Chilean Carmenere. 

But it's not just National Curry Week this week - it's also National Chocolate Week! My top choice for a wine to match with a chocolate dessert would have to be the Late Harvest Sauvignon blanc from Concha Y Toro in Chile – a luscious, decadent sweet wine made from late harvested grapes, and simply irresistible…it’s gloriously honeyed, and sweet, but has an amazing citrussy zestiness, with flavours of tangerines and papaya, which keeps the wine balanced, lively, and just delicious… don’t just try it with chocolate, it’s just perfect with the very seasonal blackberry and apple crumble I’m going to be cooking this weekend!

Next week

I’m going to be giving you a round up from a big South African tasting that I went to, and talking about the best wines to keep you warm when the clocks go back… and it’s Halloween too!