What wine goes with spicy food and curry?

Why these wines work with spicy food and curry

Chilli heat changes the rules. Capsaicin makes alcohol burn hotter and tannin taste harsher, so a big, oaky, high-alcohol red with a curry can feel like pouring fuel on a fire. Sweetness does the opposite: it calms the heat and lets the flavours of the dish come through.

With curry, Thai and Sichuan food

That is why the pick here is a white with a touch of sweetness, and why Riesling, especially an off-dry Mosel with its low alcohol and bright acidity, is the classic match for Thai, Sichuan and Indian food. Gewürztraminer brings lychee, rose and ginger that meet aromatic spices on their own terms, and Torrontes, Muscat, Viognier and Malvasia have the perfume to stand up to lemongrass, coriander and lime. Acidity matters as much as sugar; it keeps the wine refreshing against rich coconut sauces.

With smoky and barbecued dishes

Not everything spicy is hot, though. Smoky, barbecued and warmly spiced dishes, from chilli con carne to harissa lamb, often want a red, and there the trick is ripe fruit and soft tannin: Grenache, a Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Zinfandel, Malbec, Carmenere or Pinotage. A Barossa Shiraz suits smoky, sweet-spiced barbecue.

When the heat climbs

Serve reds slightly cool and keep the alcohol modest where you can. The hotter the dish, the more the glass should lean towards sweetness, freshness and fruit.