Whilst the snow that keeps falling is not doing any damage to the vines, in fact it does them much good, it is certainly making me turn to warm and hearty reds rather than refreshing whites! Likewise with the food that I am eating, my body naturally craves rich casseroles and warming curries to fend off the cold and damp weather. That being the case at Vinécole this winter we ran a Wine and Curry Tasting, in fact the first Tasting sold out in two days so we are running another in March! A lot of like minded people I guess.

Spicy food although warming and tasty can play havoc with wines in fact many people tend to steer clear of them altogether and opt for a refreshing lager instead. Well lager is not actually a good match to spicy food and wine can and does work better. Don’t believe me, no? Several die-hard lager fans didn’t either until they came along to our tasting and tried for themselves. So for those of you who are unable to join us for the Tasting but enjoy a good curry and struggle with what to drink, below are some of my notes and findings at our tasting.

The word “curry” is a loose, generic term used in Europe and America to describe a variety of spiced dishes from Asia, in particular India, Pakistan and Thailand. The word curry is an anglicised version of the Tamil word ‘khari’ meaning sauce or gravy rather than spice. In most Southern Indian languages the word literally means “side-dish” which can be eaten along with a main dish like a rice or bread.

It is generally thought that wine and curry do not match, and it is true that if you look at the curry producing countries that they are not known for wine making, or drinking for that matter. One of the key issues with matching wine with curry is not actually the heat of the spice, although that can be a problem, see below, but more the fact that a traditional Indian or Thai meal would consist of many dishes served together rather than one after the other as in Europe. This causes difficulties when matching as which dish do we try and partner? Or do we have a different wine for each dish? Fun but rather impractical!

Which is one of the reasons why lager is often the chosen beverage, it is cool and refreshing but does not interfere with the flavours of the food. In that retrospect lager is a good match, however the problem with lager is that it is gassy, often very, and the gas causes the stomach to swell and creates discomfort and accentuates the heat. Take the example of a glass of water; water aficionados will recommend lightly sparkling mineral rich waters such as Badoit with food rather than fully sparkling carbonated waters such as Perrier. That said a light sparkle can be refreshing so why not try a semi-sparkling wine, here you will have both the acidity and the spritz to lift and refresh the palate.

Wine and curry can in fact work very well and make good bed fellows, however, there are some key notes to remember when pairing. Firstly look at the spices that you are using in the dish, what sort of spice is it (see the lists below), then, as you will usually have more than one spice in the dish, find which is the dominant, and look to match that.

Key points to note when matching wine with spicy food:

• Wines high in acid are best as they are refreshing
• Wines are best served chilled, even reds should be lightly chilled between 14 and 16°C
• Wines should be low in tannin as the heat of the spice will cause the tannins to taste bitter and harsh, tannins are also exaggerated at low temperatures (think of cold tea!)

• Wines are best when low in alcohol, preferably not higher than 12.5° ABV, as the heat in chili causes the alcohol to burn

• Wines should be light in oak or have no oak at all as the oak clashes with some spices such as cumin and will taste bitter and have a harsh after taste
• Off-dry whites work best as the slight sweetness calms the heat of the spice in much the same way as adding sugar to an over hot curry does
• Aromatic and fruity wines are often chosen as they have enough flavour to stand up to the dishes however this can be overdone and in the case of some New World wines, create a battle of the flavours!
• Delicate, fine or old wines will be lost with spicy food and so are best saved for a more delicate meal
• Cheap wines have very little character and a one dimensional flavour which will be stripped by spices so that all you are left with is astringency of the tannin or tartness of the acid
• Food spiciness should be equal to wine spiciness rather than the other way around
• Pepper in wine can clash with spices in food, sometimes spice in wine matched with spice in food can be too overpowering and the flavours fight rather than harmonise

Potential Wine Killers!

Dishes with:

High levels of sweetness, sourness, saltiness, bitterness or hot spiciness

Divide spices into their origins:

Root = ginger

Bark = cinnamon

Flowers = saffron

Seeds = cumin

Fruit = allspice

Buds = clove

Three types of spice:

Sweet-spicy – cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, ginger and tamarind

Savory-spicy – cumin, pepper, cardamom and fish sauce

Hot-spicy – chili, mustard seed, hot peppers and horseradish

To summarise excessive oak, tannin and alcohol can interfere with the flavours of the dish and create a bitter and unpleasant after taste. Aim for wines high in acidity and fruitiness. As most dishes will have a mix of spices, aim to match the dominate flavour and take into account the protein in the dish. For example a chili based dish served with prawns would work best with a an off-dry Pinot Gris but a chili based dish with lamb would work better with a Rioja Crianza. Have some fun and see what works best for you; when we did our tasting we also served a cold lager, a room temperature English bitter, a natural yoghurt lassi and a glass of still water.

Santé

Emma Kershaw

Vinécole

www.vinecole.com

04.68.31.64.14