From butter chicken to biryani, your favourite Indian dishes are about to get even better with these surprising pairings.
We’re going to make a captain’s call here and say that Indian food is the best takeaway. Think about it – compared to the soggy fish and chips, greasy burgers and wilted pizza that so often show up on delivery, curries and rice thrive in their little containers. The flavours, textures and temperatures are totally unbothered by transport, which means you’ll always get the delicious, spice-laden meal you ordered. Plus, they often throw in some free papadams, which is a crunchy bonus treat.
So, yes, you should order that curry this weekend (or weeknight, we’re not here to judge). We’re giving you the all-clear. And when you do, you’ll find that every dish can be made better with a wine pairing. It may not be the first drink you reach for with an Indian spread, but it can be a truly incredible match. While there’s no real right or wrong here, below are five of our favourite wine pairings to get you started.
Click image to shop
Fried starters: Pakoras and samosas with sparkling wine
Speak to any sommelier about their favourite food and wine pairings and, unless they’re trying to shock you, they’ll invariably come out with some combination of sparkling wine and salty, fried food. It’s the combination of the wine’s crisp freshness and subtle richness paired with the crunchy, salty, fatty food that makes the pairing so wonderful. For us, one of the best examples is a pakora (a battered and fried vegetable fritter) or samosa (a fried pastry filled with spiced meat or veg) with Croser Non Vintage.
Whether you’re in the pakora corner or siding with samosas, it doesn’t matter – you’re in for a good time here. Croser brings enough zesty stone fruit flavours and bubbly freshness to balance the spicy, fried starter. This will all keep your palate primed for the rest of the meal ahead.
Creamier curries: Butter chicken or chicken korma with gewürztraminer
We’re fans of curry in all its forms, but we have a definite soft spot for the creamier kind. Curries like butter chicken and chicken korma might be on the milder side of the Scoville scale, but they’re still packed with plenty of those signature spices like cumin, turmeric and garam masala that make Indian food so complex, savoury and moreish.
In both cases, you’ve got the tangy richness of yogurt (plus cream and tomato in butter chicken) that begs for a wine with some acidity, fruitiness and a bare hint of sweetness. For us, that says gewürztraminer all over – and none hit the mark quite like the Dopff Au Moulin Gewürztraminer. You’ll get brightness, flavours like lychee and Turkish delight, and a tiny touch of sweetness that really works with the curries. Add a buttery garlic naan on the side and you’re set.
Click image to shop
Click image to shop
High spice level: Vindaloo with rosé
Vindaloo has a reputation for being the go-to for spice heads and that’s well-earned – it even looks spicy with its fiery red gravy. The flavour profile of vindaloo is tangy thanks to vinegar, and hot due to the very liberal use of chillies, making this ideal with a side of raita (that cooling yogurt and veg condiment) and, ideally, a cold glass of rosé to go with it.
Rosé is typically subtle in its flavours, leaning on crispness to do most of the heavy lifting – and that’s good news here. The Mr Mick Rosé mild strawberry and peach flavours will complement the wine’s fruity tang while its crispness should help put the fire out. Vindaloo traditionally uses pork as the protein, too, which will go especially well with a fruity rosé. Styles that aren’t bone dry, with some fruit sweetness, are chilli’s best friend.
Aromatic rice dishes: Biryani with gamay
Biryani pops up on Indian menus, but the dish is found all across the subcontinent and South Asia, meaning there’s rarely a singular version to be found. What you’ll almost always get, though, is a mix of rice, marinated meat, vegetables (like sweet and nutty fried onions) and spices (with saffron often lending its signature golden hue), all baked together. Yeah, biryani rocks.
Proteins like lamb, goat, chicken and beef (the latter particularly outside of India) are common, but it won’t make a huge difference when it comes to our wine pairing – Bourgogne Gamay from Combe St-Jean. Gamay is typically a light-bodied, low-tannin wine with juicy fruit flavours (here it’s cherry, in particular) and some earthiness – all of which is good news with a savoury, dry rice dish like biryani that’s crying out for a wine that can refresh the palate between bites.
Click image to shop
Click image to shop
Rich and aromatic: Rogan Josh with shiraz
In general, full-bodied red wines don’t work all that well with spicy foods like curries, but the exception to the rule is rogan josh and a cool-climate shiraz, like the Mount Langi Ghiran Cliff Edge Shiraz. Rogan josh is a slow-braised curry (usually with lamb as the protein) that develops a deep red colour thanks to Kashmiri chillies and complex, aromatic flavours courtesy of cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and co.
Wine-wise, we treat rogan josh just like any other rich, meaty braised dish – though this one has a little more heat than your classic beef Bourguignon. Here, the Mount Langi shiraz brings some tannin (always welcome with red meats), deep fruit flavours and enough body to match up with the unctuous, slow-cooked curry. In the depths of winter, we know what we’re ordering.
