The Best Wine With Indian Food

Probably no food is more difficult to pair with wine than Indian food. When eating at an Indian restaurant, you can always drink water, but I always like alcohol to accompany my thirst quencher. Beer is another alternative. It is definitely a safer choice, but if you're not particularly fond of beer and extremely fond of wine, you may want to investigate the possibility of hitting a great wine/Indian food match. It seems like any time you ask someone what goes well with Indian food, the answer is Gewurztraminer. I guess Gewurztraminer is mentioned because it's a spicy and often sweet wine and is believed to be able to hold up well against the intense spices in Indian food. I used to order Gewurztraminer whenever I ate at an Indian restaurant and could never figure out why I was disappointed. I thought maybe there was something wrong with my taste in wine. After researching wine and Indian food, I learned that because Indian food is so nuanced, and the spices so varied, no wine is going to work as the stock "best with Indian food" wine. Years ago someone must have mentioned Gewurztraminer as being the "Indian food wine" and it became an urban legend. Indian food has so many flavors and spices, that truly the best way to match wine with it's varied dishes, is to seek the help of the particular restaurant's sommelier. Each restaurant has it's own dishes and list of wines. The sommelier is going to be the one who has tasted the restaurant's wines and dishes. He or she is going to take pride in getting it right. Don't be intimidated. Most sommeliers love doing what they do and love working with novices as well as wine experts. Also, don't be afraid to give a price range. It is my experience that sommeliers take pride in buying and serving great wines in all price levels. Picking a wine at a steak house is easy. Picking a wine at an Indian restaurant is a challenge. Use the restaurant pro if they have one. If they don't, you may want to go with beer. I know the title of this posting is The Best Wine With Indian Food, so I guess I have to give a couple of generic recommendations. Again, my first recommendation is to use the restaurant pro, but if I must .......With the dishes in which you would normally drink a white wine, I think a good choice is a Viognier. Pinot Grigios, Rieslings and Sauvignon Blancs are also good but I think a Viognier is about as versatile a wine as there is. If I have to pick a red I think works most often with Indian food, I'd go with a cote du rhone; also because of its versatility.