Ask Myles

Myles Mayall, wine educator and wine buyer for The Wine Society of India, will take your questions now. Email - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Telephone - (022) 4345 9114

This is too long an answer to compress into one sitting, so this week I'll answer the first part:

1. When you already know what’s for dinner.

a. Indian Food

I'm not going to go into too much detail about pairing wine with Indian food – wriggly can of worms, that, especially for a foreigner (albeit from a part of London with a big Gujarati community).  But we should at least mention a few stock items and styles that crop up in your usual buffet.

Chili spice is a prickly thing. Mild to medium chili-spiced dishes can be matched to a surprising variety of wines, but the stronger the chili, the less you will be able to taste other flavours (see boxed text).

There are a number of traditional ways to deal with  dishes heavy in chili spice. One is to try to counter the spice with something white, and slightly sweeter, such as a Gewurztraminer (pronounced ge-worts-tra-meener), or a Riesling. Another is to drown it in fruit and alcohol with big rich red wines like a fat Australian Shiraz.

Annoyingly, this doesn’t always work.

For me, the best way is to find a balanced wine, with good fruit and structure (both red and white), and, crucially, not too much alcohol. Less than 14% alcohol is usually best; any more leads to diminishing the flavour of the dish (and eventually diminished responsibility!).
The match between wine and food should be a sort of yin and yan thing – the one compensates where the other lacks, and both support one another. If the wine has good full flavours and high acidity, pair it with a rich, creamy/buttery dish.
That said, it is a constant process of experimentation - sometimes the results can be unexpected, and delightfully surprising.

Now, back on the subject of spices, when we refer to them, we obviously don’t just mean chili. There are thousands of spices out there, and millions of combinations….

I think the basic points are:

1. creamy/buttery dishes (Makhani, Korma) need to be counterbalanced by acidity. This can mean a flavoursome white with plenty of acidity (even for white meats), like a light French or Chilean Chardonnay or a Riesling, from Alsace if available. The Chardonnay will contain both citrus and vanilla hints, and the Riesling, residual sweetness, both of which help balance the rich spices in the dish. Most importantly, the acidity in both cuts through the cream and fatty texture of the dish. Another surprise (for me anyway) is New World - especially South African and New Zealand - Sauvignon Blanc. Grassy, rich in lychee and fresh vegetal notes, and bracing full-on acidity. Yummy with butter chicken!
   You can try out a lighter red, such as a New Zealand Pinot Noir, or an Italian Valpolicella, but I’m not sure about this, and would worry that the red fruits of the kind of medium-to-high acidity red needed to deal with the fatty cream/butter would be drowned out by the dish.     …an experiment for the near future. Perhaps a richer California Pinot Noir…? We shall see, and keep you updated.
2. For dishes with red sauces with more acidic elements (Vindaloo, Rogan Josh), I’m going to fall back on the tried and tested youthful low-tannin Shiraz (or a North Rhone Syrah) and Malbec option. Big, fruity reds, with softer tannins that provide the meal with extra flesh and fruitiness. Make sure the alcohol is 14% or below. Preferably below. Remember, medium to low alcohol wines respond better to chili spice. Other options for this are Chilean Carmenere, big fruity wines from the Languedoc and Rhone valley in Southern France, and Sicilian Nero d’Avola.
3. For Biryani, also for slightly oily party snacks and the like, try white wine with good, balanced acidity. Watch out though, as many white wines contain citrus flavours, make sure that if your dish contains citrus that it is subtle and downplayed. A Sauvignon Blanc, or even a slightly lower acidity, floral Soave is good. Argentine Torrontes and Spanish Albarino also work a treat. The real surprise is how well sparkling wine can work with these dishes. The spritz (fizz), acidity, general crispness, cuts through the oil, and helps to bring out spices like Cardamom. Champagne is great, if you can afford it. Otherwise go for a Spanish Cava or Italian Prosecco.
   Do try this out. Decadent, but fun.
4. For Tandoori foods it often depends  on the  spices in the baste. That said, there are actually lots of wines that can pair with your average Tandoori chiken. Soft, full flavoured reds can work, including Zinfandel (keep the alcohol low), Carmenere and all those. For the whites you can range into moderately oaked Chardonnay, and full flavoured varietals with lots of structure, like Italian Fiano, Spanish Rueda, Torrontes and back to our trusty old New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

b. Thai food:

It’s a cliché, but a great deal of Thai food does work with Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Blanc – cool climate, mountain grape varieties, often floral, and with a tiny bit of residual sugar. These are not particularly citrus dominated wines and therefore compliment the use of lemongrass, lime, etc found in so many Thai dishes.

c. Chinese Food

Chinese Food is simple, and runs along roughly similar lines to Indian – combat oil with acidity. Sauvignon Blanc, South African Chenin Blanc, for reds Valpolicella and Pinot Noir. Keep matching and pairing.

d. European Cuisine:

European wines are designed to complement the cuisines of the specific region from where they come. Red Burgundy (Pinot Noir) suits the food style of the Burgundy region - game and rich dark meats with delicate textures and deep sauces. White Albarino suits the rich fish dishes of Spain’s Atlantic coast. Chenin Blanc developed to accompany the variety of vegetable casseroles and stews of North France and Bordeaux was designed for Englishmen who like their steaks rare and bloody (here here!) and so-on. There have been so many billions and billions of words put to print and crammed onto the internet, that I won’t go into it in too much detail now. Let’s save that for a later date.

I’ll settle for a basic list:

Steak -  Rich reds: Cabernet Sauvignon, and/or Bordeaux, Australian Shiraz, South African Pinotage, Argentine Malbec,  etc.

Dark meats like Duck, Rabbit, Venison, etc - Pinot Noir, Sangiovese(like Vino Noble or rich Chianti), Tempranillo (like red Rioja).

Chicken dishes:  Reds like Cotes du Rhone or Chateauneuf-du-Pape, other Southern French reds from Provence and the Languedoc , like Corbieres, Coteaux de Languedoc, Costieres de Nimes, etc. Merlot from the US and Chile. Whites like, Oaked Chardonnay and Semillon from Australia.

Fish dishes: Reds like, light Pinot Noir from Germany, Alsace or Italy, or Italian Valpolicella.

Most whites (depending on how rich the sauce is).

Pizza: Go Italian!!! Try Chianti or Barbera.

Pasta: Depends on the pasta. Use the same system as for Indian food. For creamy sauces, go with acidity (although gentler as flavours are less intense).

Red: Barbera, Valpolicella, Pinot Noir, or even Beaujolais. For whites, Soave, Gavi, French or Chilean Sauvignon Blanc. For acidic tomato based sauces, go for balance and fleshy fruit.

Reds: Southern French Syrah/Grenache based wines, Chianti, Nero d’Avola, richer, New Zealand or US Pinot Noir, etc.

Salads: Light reds, like Beaujolais, or lighter Pinot Noir. Delicate whites, such as Soave, Pinot Blanc, Loire (North French) Sauvignon Blanc.

Whew! That was long – apologies. Any thoughts, queries, disputing arguments, please call, or write to me!

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
9930422981