Any Red wine for Indian food?

Of course we are bringing Riesling. But are there any red varietals that pair well with Indian spices?

People say Syrah pairs well. I’m not the hugest fan of Syrah tho.

I my opinion, I think Beaujolais (fruituer, less structured versions), or Frappato go well.

Pinot noir. Both still and bubbly.

I’ll be doing exactly that in a couple of hours as we’re heading over to our Indian friends for dinner. They bring the raw spices back from India and grind up their own mixes. bam!

There’s not really any such thing as Indian food any more than European Food. But that said with chili spices I’d tend to avoid tannins.

My favorite wine to pair with (home-made) Indian food is a Littorai pinot noir. I find the plush fruitiness plays well with spices like cardamom, turmeric, coriander. I don’t add any hot pepper to my Indian food, though. So I guess it depends on what kind of Indian food you are having.

Depends on the specific dish, but I have had success with Pinot Noir and Syrah.

Zinfandel.

Indian friends I used to work with say Petite Sirah is a great match. I was surprised, but apparently it works well (I haven’t had a chance to try it…no PS on hand, but they have good/trustworthy palates).

When I think about Indian food, fenugreek and coriander come to mind.

There are obviously many styles of cooking in such a diverse nation.

Having said that, I recommend reds that have either a simple, fruity wine with good acidity like village-level Beaujolais, American Gamay, perhaps an Anjou or Touraine Gamay, or Valdiguie. An alternative would be a well-aged Chateau Musar, or another red with a little “stank” to it (French Carignan-based wines).

What about the unique, fragrant reds from Dirty and Rowdy, or a Rosé Champagne?

We’ve had Indian restauranteurs come in, taste and buy more robust, spicy, earthy Pinot for their cuisine. Sonoma coast, Petaluma Gap to be precise. I was skeptical but tried it and is is great. Tikka, Palak, Dahl etc. Amazing pairing.

A bottle of well resolved Burgundy and a bottle of Riesling accompany my wife & I any time we dine at an Indian restaurant.

Naan with some tamarind sauce is one of my favorite pairings with Spatlese.

Rose champagne

Dude, you’d say that if ice cream was the question!

Speaking of difficult food-wine matches, while having brunch today I heard a man order a glass of pinot noir and a chocolate croissant.

Sea Smoke 10 pairs perfectly with that!

Grenache sometimes works if you are trying to emphasize the heat.
I’m also a big fan of PN.

Lambrusco.

Normally we have crisp whites but if one was choosing reds, I’d go with the lighter, acidic ones. Maybe a Beaujolais, or Pinot. For me, tannin and oak don’t pair well with this.

I’m in the Lambrusco/Beaujolais/Frappato/PN camp. Higher octane wines like Zin/Grenache/Syrah/PS are so far from refreshing that I don’t want any more wine or food once I’ve had a sip. It’s too much on top of too much at that point. As always, what “works” for one person is nowhere near universal.

Some of you are a little slow on the uptake! Did I mention that good Zinfandel is very versatile?