I wonder if anyone can advise me on what wine might go nicely with a delicious-looking beef curry that my wife has made which we are eating this evening? I always find it very difficult to find the right wine to go with curry; I suppose it depends largely on what the dominant flavours are in the sauce. I believe this one contains garam masala, ginger, garlic, onion, chili, tomatoes, amongst other things.
Suggestions most welcome!
Andy
How about a robust red from the Rhone, or the Languedoc, with Grenache, or Syrah, dominant - or perhaps a Zinfandel, if you prefer slightly more sweetness? A Barbera might be another option…or a Lebanese Red?
[QUOTE=Andy MacFaul, Hemel Hempstead;56057]I wonder if anyone can advise me on what wine might go nicely with a delicious-looking beef curry that my wife has made which we are eating this evening?[/QUOTE]
For this, I have a whole range of Mosel Riesling wines with nice residual sugar, in my cellar just screaming to be released from captivity! Jump down to your local Merchant, and grab a few similar wines, you won’t be sorry. ;-D
I’d probably drink a cold white with a little sweetness. Nothing too flash, there’s a lot of flavours going on in that curry! I think a white would help cut some of the oiliness of the dish better than red, just my opinion. Beer might be even better.
Yours
PV
Agreeing with the cool, sweet white wine suggestions. Last night we had curry and paired it with a semi-sweet Chenin Blanc from the Loire; worked a treat.
The beef adds a bit of body which is tricky to compromise with, but if you have an Auslese handy that could add enough weight to compensate? Not a deal breaker by any means, of course.
So it’s a robust red or a sweet white! No wonder I get confused 
Seriously though, thank you for these really informative, helpful replies. I think I’d better taste it first and then decide. If the chili is coming through strongly I have an idea that that should incline me towards a robust red, as that is what I’d have with chili con carne. But otherwise I think I’ll go for a Mosel Riesling - Spatlese, I think, as I’d be terrified of ruining one of my relatively few Auslesen. Then again, I don’t find nearly enough opportunities to drink my sweeter German wines…so maybe I should go for it!
Andy
[QUOTE=Andy MacFaul, Hemel Hempstead;56063]But otherwise I think I’ll go for a Mosel Riesling - Spatlese[/QUOTE]
That would be my final choice, enjoy! ;-D
Allow me to make a late bid - a ripe style of Alsatian Gewurztraminer, possibly even at Vendanges Tardives sweetness.
I agree with prior posters about the value of sweetness. However, the delicacy of a Mosel Riesling may be dominated in part by the spice (depends hugely on absolute spiciness), but also by the it being a beef curry. If it were a Thai fish curry, the Riesling would definitely work.
Fuller-bodied Gewurz, with earthy spice tones of Alsace may work better. Further, if it has some botrytis, the sotolon of botrytis gives a curry-spice overtone that would also work well.
Otherwise, the Rhone is a good call.
A rich Alsace Gewurz sounds ideal to me. Due to the absence of decent red wine in a modest Alsace restaurant once, I discovered that Gewurz is pretty good with non-curried chunks of beef too.
Love the late entry - I have several Alsace Gewurzes, some of them quite sweet, but as with my German Rieslings I’m often unsure what to drink them with. I think it will be a toss up between a Zind-Humbrecht 2005 Clos Windsbuhl VT and Kurt Hain Piesporter 2011 Riesling Goldtropfchen Spatlese Nr 13 Grey Slate which Jancis said was “brilliantly unspittable” six months ago. Quite the recommendation, I thought!
Apologies for the lack of umlauts, by the way…
Andy
[QUOTE=Andy MacFaul, Hemel Hempstead;56068]I think it will be a toss up between a Zind-Humbrecht 2005 Clos Windsbuhl VT and Kurt Hain Piesporter 2011 Riesling Goldtropfchen Spatlese Nr 13 Grey Slate which Jancis said was “brilliantly unspittable” six months ago.[/QUOTE]
Why not open both and have a head-to-head?
I might just do this, especially as, having unearthed the Gewurz, I find that it is a half bottle! Any views on which one we drink first, or just taste them side by side?
[QUOTE=Andy MacFaul, Hemel Hempstead;56071]I might just do this, especially as, having unearthed the Gewurz, I find that it is a half bottle! Any views on which one we drink first, or just taste them side by side?[/QUOTE]
I’d go for the Riesling first ;-D
Do let us all know how it works out!
I would back up Andrew’s red’s suggestions from the beginning of this post. The age-old thinking of Riesling with spicy foods needs to be revisited. I regularly ate Thai with Californian Zin and found it to be an excellent pairing.
I assume an Italian Primitivo would suffice for a European audience but I don’t often find ones that I like. Grenache might be a bit angular but a GSM blend can also work.
[QUOTE=Miquel Hudin, Priorat;56076]I would back up Andrew’s red’s suggestions from the beginning of this post. The age-old thinking of Riesling with spicy foods needs to be revisited. I regularly ate Thai with Californian Zin and found it to be an excellent pairing.
I assume an Italian Primitivo would suffice for a European audience but I don’t often find ones that I like. Grenache might be a bit angular but a GSM blend can also work.[/QUOTE]
I’ve heard that Syrah works pretty well with curry; haven’t had the chance to test it myself. Also like the suggestions of full bodied Gewurztraminer; I imagine that should work!
Probably too late for the dinner, but for next time:
For a more unusual matching that works very well, see if you can find some wine made from Petit Manseng.
Get it fermented to dry if possible; if not, moelleux is the sweetest I’d go to – avoid sweet wines made using passerillage.
I agree with a delicious Gewurz., f. ex. dom. A. Mann, Furstentum.
Do let us know what you chose and how it went with the curry? Don’t leave us in suspense…
It’s got to be Belgian Lambic beer, which is quite distinctive in flavour and will not be overwhelmed by all that’s in the curry.
[QUOTE=Ian Day, Wadebridge;56094]It’s got to be Belgian Lambic beer, which is quite distinctive in flavour and will not be overwhelmed by all that’s in the curry.[/QUOTE]
Ooooh, right between the eyes, Volltreffer! Can’t argue much with that choice.