I was born
and brought up in Yorkshire, close to Bradford which was the curry capital of
the UK for many, many years, but for some reason, I never really got into them
until after my varsity-days down south. Nowadays, I love a good curry,
especially because it encourages me to try a range of wines which I don’t
normally go for – the off-dry ones.
Off-dry
styles of wine really work well with curries because the slight sweetness goes
some way to neutralising the heat. Off-dry wines are often very aromatic as
well, so the spices of a nice curry can be picked up by the
ginger/cardamom/allspice notes in the wines as well. And finally, think about
the ingredients in your curry – if you are adding fruity ingredients, coconut
or other nuts then those are all flavours you can either contrast or complement
in the wine too.
So here we
are – a few suggestions of great things to drink with your curry. Enjoy!
Neethlingshof
Gewurztraminer 2010 R45 from leading
retailers
An
intensely aromatic version of this German grape – plenty of Turkish delight, cinnamon
and clove flavours here. It’s quite a robust wine unlike others Gewurz’s which
are quite delicate but would work best with a sweeter style of curry – perhaps
a Cape
Malay Seafood affair would be good.
Jason’s
Hill Wooded White 2010 R35
from the farm
Made from
Nouvelle, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc and aged in 100% new American oak,
this is packed full of coconut with lots of lemongrass notes and a creamy
finish. An absolute natural for all thai food, a good Thai Green
Curry would suit this to perfection.
Fairview
Viognier 2009 R70 from the farm
This was
one of the first single varietal viogniers ever made in SA and is still up
there with the best. Full of delicate ginger and spice notes with apricot fruit
and cream, it’s a great wine to pair with a good chicken
Korma or any other creamy
mild curry.
Kleine
Zalze Vineyard Selection Chenin Blanc 2010 R62
from leading retailers
Chenin is
another variety with works well with spicy foods, but make sure it is one of
the richer, riper styles and the best way to find those is to look for ones
which have been in oak. This has been lightly-kissed with wood to add a little
creaminess and vanilla to the crispy apples and pears and has enough weight to
handle quite robust spices and meat curries.
Hartenberg
Weisser Riesling 2009 R66
from Wine Concepts
A great
version of one of the wine world’s greatest grapes. This packs quite a sweet
punch at the start but is so balanced out by lively acidity and fresh appley
fruit that it can cope with all sorts of heat without being cloying or sticky.
Probably best with something delicate and aromatic so perhaps think Thai,
Chinese or Indonesian rather than Indian.