Indian cuisine is often seen as the most challenging food to match to a wine. The strong spices that go into each dish have an overwhelming effect on the palate. It is therefore essential to think carefully about the flavours that each wine will deliver, rather than just choosing a wine you love. Consider how a wine will work with the food and always bear in mind the foods strongest ingredient when choosing a wine. With most other cuisine there is a little more leeway on how the wine will match the food. With Indian food it is more like placing your first foot on a tight rope so be brave as there is very little margin for error. In order to get you across the potential pitfalls of what wine to choose, follow these 5 simple rules.
Choose a Simple Wine with a few Key Flavours
This is not the sort of food in which you want to pull out that 95' Montrachet for. Don't overwhelm an already overwhelmed palate. The many different spices used in Indian cooking can often numb those organoreceptors on the tongue that detect individual subtle nuances of flavour meaning you really won't get to appreciate any fine wine. Therefore select a simple wine that delivers a few key flavours in sufficient volume.
Choose a Lower Alcohol Level with Spicy Food
Go for low alcohol levels. Alcohol will have two different effects on the palate. Initially it may actually help to make the food seem less spicy. The reason behind this is the the active ingredient in hot food is capsicum which is soluble in alcohol but not water. Hence, drinking water won't actually get rid of any of the spice. The increased alcohol content in wine will help solubalize the capsicum washing it from the tongue and removing a lot of the spiciness.
However, what you will find is that after a while, as the capsicum keeps getting replaced on every mouthful, your taste buds will have become over-sensitized so that even a small amount will have a much greater effect. This is when the high levels of alcohol will start to accentuate the heat. The effect of this is to make your tongue feel like its been rolled out on the table and hit with a hammer a couple of times. So stay away from wines of any more than 14% Alcohol.
Try a Lighter-Bodied Wine
Considering the tongue is one of the most sensitive organs in the body, don't abuse it with Tannin. The spices alone will be giving it a serious work out. The last thing you want to do is throw in a chemical which will strip the saliva from your mouth. As well as this the bitterness and hard textures of the tannins will be brought out by the Turmeric, Garam Masala and Mustard seeds, reducing any fruit flavours the wine may posses. This is even worse when a wine has high levels of methoxypyrazines, the chemicals present in wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon, here the green, bell pepper flavours will be even more pronounced.
Skip the Oak
Beware over-oaked wines. As well as adding extra tannins to the wine, aggressive oak treatment can give a chewy sensation to the experience of eating. Again the spice of the food against the spiciness of the oak may start to polarize the whole dish, meaning only the strongest flavours become perceivable.
Try Some Sweetness to Balance the Heat
The last but maybe the most important suggestion is to go a little sweet. A touch of residual sugar within the wine can help calm the heat of the dish. Think of it this way, all the hottest sauces are made using the basic ingredients chilli and vinegar. Vinegar is not only there to preserve, but also to add bite through it's acidity, which when added to an already sensitive palate makes the sauce seem hotter. When you counteract the acidity with sugar the balance of the spices upon the palate changes. It may be the same level of spiciness but you won't get the same fiery sensation. Additionally, you do not taste the sweetness in the wine that you would otherwise taste as this will be hidden amongst the flavours and spices of the food.
What Wines To Choose
- If you love the taste and sensation of Indian spices then choose a wine which will accentuate those. Go for white wines that are a touch more acidic, delivering minerality with restrained citrus fruit which will more or less sit in the background. For example, Muscadet from the Loire, Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand or Torrontes from Argentina.
- If you prefer a combination of flavours that will be displayed through the wine and the food, go for a wine with a bit of texture, one that has a possible touch of oak. So wines that have undergone a certain degree of malolactic fermentation are always a good bet. For the whites, Rousanne from Californian, Chardonnay from the Adelaide Hills or a basic Bourgogne work well. The reds that fall into this category will include fruit focused Cabernet Franc of Chinon and weightier Pinot Noirs from Oregon.
- To reduce the intensity of the spice throughout the meal, select palate saver wines from Alsace such as Gewürztraminer with its ginger, lychees and exotic fruits or Pinot Gris that coats the palate with its textural oiliness. In dishes of a more creamy nature choose off- dry Rieslings from either Germany, New Zealand or Alsace that give a slight waxiness which is followed up by honey, kerosene and citrus notes.
