Wine with Indian food

[Joe Schmoe]

This is one of my soap box topics I'm afraid, so at the risk of this thread being transfered over to the Rant and Raves section, I'll be brief...

How can the same wine go with a king prawn dish in a cream or nut sauce, as with a mutton dish in chillies, lentils and tomatoes? I always feel that to clump all of India's cuisine into one basket is a little unhelpful for those that like wine also. My tip is to be sympathetic to each dish, just as you would be if ordering several different styles of food in a restaurant. Strong flavours such as cumin, cilantro, bell peppers etc frequently dominate a particular dish, so try to match a wine with these flavours, rather than the meat/fish/pulse in the dish. As it happens, particularly due to the heat in some dishes, I like to drink a young Mosel spatlese with creamy chicken or fish curries, and a softly oaky, ripe Spanish red with dry meat curries. Experiment and enjoy!

JW