If it's one thing I enjoy it's a bit of mischievous rule-breaking, or, in this case, myth-busting, so let's tackle the Rule which holds that spicy Indian curries are impossible to match with wine. Stick to beer, the experts declare. No thanks.
Curry is one of my favourite foods and there's no way I'd miss the chance to enjoy a bottle of wine alongside the meal. Furthermore, why should we be dictated to by tyrannical food-and-wine-combination police? I'm here to reassure curry-lovers that you can indeed drink wine the next time you tuck into a korma or a rogan josh with garlic naan, and that it can be an exquisite experience.
If you look into culinary history, there's no tradition of wine-drinking in Indian culture so the cuisine did not develop to be married to wine. It's a similar case with other Asian cuisine, and yet common knowledge holds that spicy white wines such as gewürztraminer are a successful match with Vietnamese or Thai dishes.
I happen to find a floral sauvignon blanc is perfect with the delicate herbal flavours of Vietnamese food, and I've also had success with a fruity frontignac alongside the rasp of chilli.
So why do we rarely hear of a wine recommended to complement Indian food?
The problem with teaming a wine with curry is the acidic flavour of vinegar and yogurt, common to many curries, which is difficult to pair with wine. I used to drink a lot of cabernet-based blends when I started experimenting with curry and wine, and so often the bottle I brought along to the restaurant would taste heavy and flat alongside the food - almost a chore to finish off. It could also lead to a dull throb in the head.
Now I know the culprit was the tannins in the cabernet - those flavours you associate with an over-steeped cup of tea and which are prevalent in some young red wines. Highly tannic wines taste bitter when confronted with chillies and seasonings; the curries strip the fruit flavours from the wine, leaving it too astringent. So what we're after for a curry night is a low-tannin wine with generous fruit.
Taste is always personal, of course, but here are some more successful wine varieties to try with curry:
Gewürztraminer: Has spices of its own and is sweet enough to temper some of the chilli.
Semillon: A bit simpler, won't compete with the food. Although any subtleties will be masked by the curries.
Viognier: Low in acidity. Has the body to stand up to strong flavours but works better with a mildly-spiced curry, like a korma.
Zinfandel: Juicy and packed with fruit, with a little bit of spice of its own. A powerful wine is particularly useful with a vinegary curry, such as a vindaloo.
Merlot: They're soft and fruity without too many tannins which would interfere with the chillies and spices in an Indian meal.
A rosé would also be a hit for the same reasons - the tannins are light enough but they give a fruity mouthful with low acidity.
The ultimate curry wine, for me, has to be a sparkling shiraz - it seems to have the sweetness to stand up to the spices and virtually no acids. Somehow the sparkle cuts through richer curry sauces; it almost 'resets' the palate between mouthfuls. A shiraz breaks the rule of avoiding highly-tannic wines, yet it works.
In Australia, you can experiment with a Morris Sparkling Shiraz Durif or a Seppelt Original Sparkling Shiraz - both for around $17. Who thought it would be so easy to reach nirvana?
Which wines do you enjoy with Indian food? Or any Asian meal? And which wine 'rules' do you most enjoy breaking?
This post originally appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald.
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