What type of red wine with spicy Indian food?

[Anonymous]

I know nothing about pairing wines. I have read there are several whites that go with Indian food but I really prefer red. Any suggestions for a red wine that goes with spicy Indian food?

[Anonymous]

Depends on whether it's a lamb, chicken, or vegetable dish, but generally, a Pinot noir should work. Or maybe a medium-bodied Italian wine like a chianti or a montepulciano.

[Anonymous]

I would personally prefer a syrah/shiraz with smoky, grilled, tomato-ey, spicy food (although I've never tried it with Indian TBH...more often barbecue). What about picking a juicy Rose? Chilled to cool the heat, a little sweetness, not to tannic or dry, but still drinks kind of like a red. Pinot if it's something like saag paneer.

PS, I had to go get Indian for lunch today, thanks to all the Indian food posts!

[Anonymous]

Reisling

[Anonymous]

Indian food does not usually go with wine.

Now a Kingfisher ...... well that is a different story!

JMHO - a desi through and through.

[Anonymous]

As an Italian with an Asian DH, yeah, usually the best bet for any spicy Asian cuisine (Indian, Thai, Vietnamese) is dry Reisling or beer.

It's possible a very dry, tannic, Italian wine like a nebbiolo could work if it's a tomato-based or red-meat-based dish, but it will honestly probably be weird.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I like beer a lot better than white wine so I think I'll choose a beer!

[Anonymous]

For spicy foods, you generally want to pair with a slightly sweet wine, to cut through the spiciness. Most red wines will clash with Indian or other spicy food.
Second the Riesling recommendation, or a viognier, or a nice muscat (not the cheapo moscato that's flooded the market recently).

[Anonymous]

None!

[Anonymous]

Gewurztraminer, alberino or gruner veltliner can all work along with Riesling.

If you really want to go with red, a spicy shiraz can go well with a lamb or beef curry. For a vegetarian dish I would generally avoid red.

[Anonymous]

We drink pinot noir with Indian food all the time. Goes great. (We're not talking hundred+ dollar burgundy here. We like Mark West.)
You would think Shiraz would also work, it has the spice, but for some reason the lighter-bodied pinot goes better than the heavier shiraz.

Agree that gewurztraminer, riesling, pinot gris, and albarino are good choices. Also, Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc/Viognier goes with everything.

[Anonymous]

You're right, I guess the shiraz would go with lamb dishes. We find that pinot noir does well with all of them, incl. veg. dishes.
I'm going to guess, PP, you're not Indian? You really don't run into too many Indian beef curries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're right, I guess the shiraz would go with lamb dishes. We find that pinot noir does well with all of them, incl. veg. dishes.
I'm going to guess, PP, you're not Indian? You really don't run into too many Indian beef curries.

Have to disagree on this. India has the third-largest population of Muslims in the world, and many of them love a beef curry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You're right, I guess the shiraz would go with lamb dishes. We find that pinot noir does well with all of them, incl. veg. dishes.
I'm going to guess, PP, you're not Indian? You really don't run into too many Indian beef curries.

Have to disagree on this. India has the third-largest population of Muslims in the world, and many of them love a beef curry.

Except cow is not usually butchered in India. What you are likely to get is water Buffalo meat. I am guessing that in Pakistan one can get beef.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're right, I guess the shiraz would go with lamb dishes. We find that pinot noir does well with all of them, incl. veg. dishes.
I'm going to guess, PP, you're not Indian? You really don't run into too many Indian beef curries.

Have to disagree on this. India has the third-largest population of Muslims in the world, and many of them love a beef curry.

OK, fair point. I admit to a Hindu-centric mindset. I defer to the PP on whether you can actually get much real beef in India. I'm not well-traveled there.