People often ask, what wine matches with spicy Indian food? I can only suggest Gewurztraminer, but lovely Nikki from Convivium wine has provided more information on what wine to pair with our menu. Nikki runs wine tasting on Thursday. Her tasting is based on a tube map which is a fun way to explore wines, I've been to one event and can say I thoroughly enjoyed it and have found that I know like white wines instead of red!
This is what Nikki has suggested:
Our menu
This is what Nikki has suggested:
Meena’s menu
is all about subtle blends of spices and textures, each element carefully
complementing or contrasting with the next. The wine needs to do the same thing
and gently just sing along beside all of these fabulous dishes. Some
people steer away from wine with spicy foods, there is no need, butthere are a
few watch outs; the chilli can make a wine feel more alcoholic, sweet and sour
can make a wine taste bitter and strong flavours can make a wine taste thin.
The trick is
to find a wine that isn’t too acidic, nor too tannic and has just a hint of
sweetness to offset the spices.
If that sounds
like an impossible task don’t despair, there are some great options…
My go to wine
would be Viña Esmerelda, a Spanish wine which has just the right balance of
sweetness and acidity. It’s a bit like having a slightly grapey chutney to wash
down all of these lovely dishes.
£7.74 Waitrose
If you prefer
a red wine I’d go for a soft red like Brown Brothers Tarrango. It’s an almost
unknown grape but this Aussie local has the perfect blend of soft and fruity,
it works especially well on the cooler side so pop it in the fridge for an hour
before you head down.
£5.99 Waitrose
(down from £7.99)
Or… and this
is possibly my favourite, pink fizz is a great wine to showcase these kinds of
food. You have to be
careful because the fizz can be a bit much with very spicy food but with the
subtlety of Meena’s dishes it will be great. You do need that tiny bit of
sweetness so I would be buying a new world fizz or pink Italian wine rather
than dry champagne. I like
this Villa Doral Prosecco Rosé, it’s called a frizzante wine because the fizz
is not quite as strong as a traditional sparkler so it’s perfect!
£9.79 Vino
Our menu
pear and cardamom infused prosecco
starters
mattar vada
bhel puri
bhel puri
mains
channa chole
sweet and sour aloo shaak
stir fried mogo, capsicum & onion
cabbage & carrot sambhar
lentil khichdi
cabbage & carrot sambhar
lentil khichdi
radish & carrot raitu flavored with cumin
mango pickle tempered with methi masala
rotli
dessert
gulkand & pistachio kulfi
