What wine to choose

In message , Ken Blake writes

I don't mind my red chilled ... and my reading suggests that this "room temperature" business for a red begins in the 18th Century before central heating ...

The average room temperature then might be 5 degrees where the wine was stored ...

I also have an "issue" with continental white wines; I've found I *can* drink Aussie whites ... but whatever's been added to French, and particularly Austrian, whites upsets me terribly.

Should have made the more plain, sorry

It's a matter of taste, of course, but I find a chardonnay goes best with most Indian food. Even the rather hot stuff. Only lightly oaked, and many might prefer an unoaked chardonnay with Indian food.

Cordially, Phil

-- ############################################################################### Dr Phil Diamond snipped-for-privacy@maths.uq.edu.au Department of Mathematics, University of Queensland, Brisbane,AUSTRALIA 4072. Tel +61 7 3365 3253 Fax +61 7 3365 1477

What's that in real money? Ah yes, 24 C is _far_ to warm for any wine, and I doubt you'd find any serious wine buff suggesting otherwise. Some young light reds, of course, can be better somewhat chilled, perhaps as low as 8-9 C. For instance, in Andalucia it's quite normal to serve young Rioja like this at lunchtime. But it becomes quite a different wine when aged in oak for a year or two and turns into a strong robust red, such as would go very well with curries and the like.

Salut/Hi Ace,

le/on Wed, 07 Jul 2004 09:28:17 +0200, tu disais/you said:-

How odd, because there is a long and strong tradition in India to serve fruit juice - often very sweet - with their meals, and equally, in East Africa, it's common to serve side dishes, some of which are sweet. Equally, many chutneys are sweet. So the experience of many is that sweet elements do no harm to curry.

Well the indian dishes I cook at home are most certainly NOT trying to ape Indian Restaurant cooking. But that's hair splitting.

Not really.

I don't listen with a condescending ear, and I am sorry if it comes across that way. However I've had enough wines with curries over 30/40 years to know that _I_ have yet to find a marriage that is better than "OK, I suppose". So I listen - or read with interest, but I'm not going to say that I think something is so when I have found the exact opposite.

I've not said that. I think I shall drop out of this thread, as we seem to be unable to find any common ground at all.

Count me in with those that think:

1) Beer works better with wine with most curries 2) White wine is less likely to clash badly with curries than red 3) a touch of sweetness - off-dry, not dessert level- can help a lot with hotter curries.So can bubbles.

These are all conventional wisdom. One area I differ is with CW is the tendency to proffer Gewurztraminer as the fall-back white. I find Gewurz works well with some Asian dishes, especially SE Asian, but not so well with curries. I tend to look more towards Qba & Kabinett level German Rieslings, Alsace Pinot Gris, sec-tendre or demi-sec Chenin, etc. A bubbly with a little sweetness would be a good thing to try with a hotter curry, if you don't like beer. The only time I could see red really would be with something like a fairly mild lamb curry. Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

that should of course read "beer works better THAN wine with most curries". Sorry

As a musing, has anyone ever tried a lightly chilled Beaujolais or lighter Loire red with curry? Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

I had an inexpensive Chinon, slightly chilled, with Tandoori food in London recently and it didn't work. The spice, particularly the cumin, made the wine taste bitter. A demi-sec Haut-Lieu Vouvray was a better match. Bi!!

What's interesting to me is the combination of ...

... with the this ...

Now when I think of beers that I like with curries I think decidedly NOT sweet -- IPAs are my beverage of choice for restaurant/curbside indian food. And yet as Ian says, there's a distinguished tradition of sweet drinks being served with these foods. I guess the fact that both works is interesting to me. My personal opinion is that bitter works better than sweet, but I don't know how popular my taste is.

-- kov

Who made the Haut-Lieu? I'm trying to get my hands on some '02 Huet demi-secs.

I wonder if same reaction would happen with a Touraine based on Gamay. Sometimes it seems to be that these reactions to spices with reds seem proportionate to tannins, though tannins tend to be more about mouthfeel than flavors.

Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

From Australia, Brown Brothers Dolcetto and Syrah is a legendary match for curries. It's normally served chilled.

One of the best food matches I've ever had was Chain of Ponds Novello Nero Grenache Barbera Sangiovese with tandoori. In general, I find that grenache works well with spicy food.

Kieran

It was the '02 Huet. I bought a case just prior to my trip to Europe and was pleasantly surprised to see it on the wine list. In my haste I forgot to post the vintage and maker, sorry. Bi!!

Lucky man! The '02 Huet demi-secs are getting hard to find. I had the Le Mont a few months ago, excellent (though obvious infanticide). I'm going to try and pick up some tonight when in city.

Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

To be honest it was easy to find. Here in Columbus, Ohio folks haven't caught on to the Loire wines yet (or Alsace for that matter) so I had it at a store tasting and bought a case. The distributor had a number of cases. FWIW, I thought that the "demi -sec" was drier than it's sec counterpart. Bi!!

"Ian Hoare" wrote

I'll take it up, if you don't mind, 'cos I've not said anything yet!

I was thinking that a Gewurtztraminer would be my wine of choice for most curries, but then decided that it would probably be a waste, since if I'm going to splash out (and for me, it is splashing out) on a decent G, I'd rather save it to go with lobster or scallops - both of which I feel are enhanced by/enhance it. Finally came to the conclusion that a nice tall glass of weak lime cordial would suit most curries (and if you want alcohol, you can always chuck a vodka in it and call it a cocktail!). There used to be a soft drink mixer called 'Russchian' or similar, the taste of which would enhance most curries, although being fizzy it would probably hurt my chilli-sensitized tongue! That's why I'm not keen on lager or cider as curry-side drinks - the bubbles hurt! The suggestion someone made of iced tea appeals, too.

None of which would help an Italian-style starter, so I'm no nearer helping the OP. I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to mixing cuisines across courses - I don't do it, 'cos I like my dinner parties to have a theme (and it makes things like deciding on drinks so much simpler!).

Jo

Salut/Hi Darkginger,

le/on Sat, 10 Jul 2004 10:06:55 +0100, tu disais/you said:-

Don't mind at all. It was just that Bruce seemed to be getting more and more ratty, so I thought it best to stop.

lobster or scallops - both of which I feel are enhanced by/enhance it.

sorry, Can't agree, as I find that both are rather dominated by the powerful monolithic character of the grape. Have you had a good Alsace Riesing with these? They are often cheaper. Another possibility in a similar kind of mold might be a Pinot Gris.

would suit most curries (and if you want alcohol, >you can always chuck a vodka in it and call it a cocktail!).

Interesting suggestion.

You're right that the subject has deviated a bit. It's normal.

don't do it, 'cos I like my dinner parties to

I am not quite as purist as that, but would hesitate about the precise combination. I'd happily serve, say, tandoori chicken as an entree to a meal that was otherwise "Western European".

with lobster or scallops - both of which I feel are enhanced by/enhance it.

You could be right, cos I've noticed I eat veeeery slowly when I've got a Gewurtz on the side - I like to savour each mouthful of the glorious stuff, and then I like to take an age over each scallop/lobster morsel, too... something more gluggable might serve better - I'll give your suggestions a try (always grateful for wine advice from people who have spent more time thinking about it than me!).

OK, you said that you can see yourself serving a tandoori starter followed by something non-Indian - can you give a couple of examples? Sometimes I feel quite restricted by my 'one cuisine at a time' theory, but I'm not sure I have the courage to start combining! In fact the prospect is quite scary, which is daft!

Also - I had a lovely scallop dish at an Italian resturant recently - they were served in a light saffron sauce with deep fried ribbons of carrot to accompany (now THAT was a revelation). I'm wondering if you, or anyone else, has a recipe for something like a slightly currified saffron sauce, which doesn't taste at all of 'curry powder' like the curry sauce you get in fish 'n chip shops does. Preferably not a masking sauce, just a light, clear one - more of a saffron & spice jus.

Probably should have started at least 2 new threads for the above, but bleah - it's Sunday, and I'm feeling lazy!

Jo

Salut/Hi Darkginger,

I'm answering briefly, because this is increasingly off topic for k.f+d.i

I am going to start at least one new thread in afw to continue.

le/on Sun, 11 Jul 2004 17:09:19 +0100, tu disais/you said:-

So it's Sunday evening and feeling energetic!!