Wine and Indian Food

When it comes to matching food and wine there are no rules – you are in charge, but there are some useful pointers. You can choose to match or contrast.

A highly flavoured dish is more likely to be complemented by a strongly flavoured wine.

‘Sweet’, warming spices will suit the contrast of a dry, more acidic wine - perhaps white, perhaps red, but don’t forget versatile rose.

The refreshing sharpness of ingredients like yoghurt, tamarind and lime needs refreshing acidity in the wine to balance.

Chilli can make tannic red wines seem harsh so choose soft fruity reds.

These are a few matches that work well.

 

Pan-seared hake with roasted aubergine and red onion salsa is a very popular starter on our a la carte menu. We’ve matched it with Sibarita Riesling from Chile, for its floral character which makes a good balance with the hake and the mustard oil dressing. The wine also possesses a degree of minerality and this complements the slight earthiness of the salsa.

 

Dum cooked rabbit in a ginger and star anise broth goes very well with A Mano Fiano/Greco from Puglia in southern Italy. The floral, fruity and spice character of the wine gives good balance to the sweet and gingery rabbit stock.

 

Coconut lamb is one of our spicier dishes and this dish works well with Punto Final Malbec from Argentina because the fully ripe fruit and richness  in the wine works so well with the spice of the lamb.