The Best Pairing for Indian Food? It’s Not Beer

"Vacuum"?? "cheap Shiraz"?? You're kidding, right? The modern English word "mead" is so old that it is cognate with the modern Hindi word for honey, "madhu" (मधु). In other words, in the dim proto-Indo-European past, all Eurasian cultures have made mead. In fact the earliest written reference to mead _anywhere on the planet_ is in the ancient Indian sacred text, the Rig Veda. Mead, or honeywine, is India's birthright and has been made and drunk there for thousands of years until most alcohol was obliterated by the invasion of Islam. Indian cuisine did not grow up with grape wine, but neither did it grow up in a vacuum. It grew up with mead. And modern American meads are the ideal accompaniment to the rich and spicy and smoky flavors of India. Every Indian restaurant should claim its birthright and have a mead list instead of (or at least in addition to) a beer or wine list. Your alcohol distributors also carry mead. Bring some in, taste them, and pick some favorites. The best, and the ONLY historically correct, alcohol pairing with Indian food is mead. Chrissie Manion Zaerpoor author of The Art of Mead Tasting and Food Pairing

I still miss Friday lunches of goat curry and vindaroo washed down with large quantities of Kingfisher and an exceptional one year old Barossa cab sav.

A cheap shiraz is the best bet at an Indian restaurant where chicken and meats are on the menu..go with Yellowtail and drink copious amounts..goes very well with spicy food ..a cool glass of water with everything else especially masala dosas and idli sambhar.

no alcoholic beverage will quell the intense heat of some Indian dishes such as vindaloo or phil. for those, a mango lassi would be better (and especially, a side order of raita).

You won't believe it until you try it, but a dry cider is great with Indian food.

Virginia's Lovingston Winery produces a wonderful single varietal of Petit Manseng. It's fabulous because it stands up to the flavours and enhances the dish.

A lot of Virginia wineries produce single varietals of white wines that pair well with Thai, Indian and other such spicy and well-seasoned cuisine. Unfortunately hard to find at wine shops for that spontaneous "let's give this a try"...but can be bought online.

Tell me what goes well with Masala Dosa in all its variations and various South Indian vegetarian dishes and you have a fan for life. I've tried sweet Rieslings (somebody shoot me), zins - no way, Pinotage (!), somebody even suggested California Sauvignon Blancs which I normally avoid like the plague (more fruity than the Marlborough stuff), meh...the search goes on.

Meanwhile we sit around, enjoy excellent Bordeaux, Syrahs, Zins, even some good Napa Cabs with cheese, Acme french baguettes and olives before we dig in to some excellent food...with no wine. Very Sad.

I enjoyed reading the article. Thank you, Eric.
I cook and feed Indian Food to my Indian and non-Indian friends. In my opinion, Gewürztraminer goes well with most Indian dishes...

Great article Eric
But I don't see any mention of Rose which goes amazing with Indian food. Robert Sinskey Roses from Napa Valley which were recommended by one of my students made me take to Indian food and wine pairing like never before ! Served at the right temperature this wine is superbly tantalizing for the taste buds.
Cheers

What about an Amarone?

Rioja Fresca - Rioja with lemon or orange soda, is heavenly with Indian food.

Gewürztraminer and off-dry (and perhaps even sweeter) Vouvray often make delicious pairings.

I have found that Semmillon like Pyramid Vally pairs amazingly as well as Rose that has a bit more fruit both pair amazingly well. As said in the Article, I have paired numerous Slighly off dry Chenins like Pinon Argiles and Chidaine Tuffeaux .

Yes, as I'm of Indian origin, I've been serving Reislings and Gewurtztraminers with my Indian cooking, for many years now ! Agree that some Vouvrays also go well.
Wonderful article, very helpful in pairing reds, which we enjoy!

Why bother witht the food? Just drink the wine. I must have missed out growing up in a village in Punjab. I don't remember any wines with simple homemade dishes that were far better than anything that I have had in pricey Indian restaurants around the world. Yes Punjabis do drink a lot, usually whiskey, before the meal and lots of it! Kind of makes the meal redundant, just saying.

Asimov likes dry wine. He's not going to get behind Gewürztraminer.

Gewürztraminer is a great wine for Indian and Thai dishes. The spice, yogurt, gravy, and even the roast meat of the tandoor go with it.

There is no "Indian" cuisine.

Everything in India, not just the cuisine, changes every 200 miles. And people think these United States are "diverse!"

Sometimes, water with ice, or a simple drink like Lassi or Matha will work extremely well. Don't get too worked up with the Wine thing. Or, the Beer thing. Or, the No Beer thing. India, and it's multiple cuisines are eminently adaptable to any and all of them, although you are trying to find your beverage bearings from a non-Indian angle. Simply ask: what would you have as a beverage when eating a particular dish, or its adaptation, in its original setting, or at home? If you are going for originality, usually, it is not wine, or beer. Actually, most Indian dietary traditions refrain from any beverages, except some sips of water to clear the palate between courses, while eating, specially a big meal.

Now, prsence or absence of any of this is any different than some Indians ordering pegs/shots of Johnny Walker Blue Label with extremely spicy tandoori appetizers. What a waste of both, never mind the money!

Cheers!

I agree with the comments about Gewürztraminer, which of course also does very nicely with many Chinese dishes, particularly dim sum. (The Alsace original, please, not the overly sweet Wast Coast copies.) Also Alsace Pinot Blanc, though good luck finding one on an NYC wine list. But I also find it curious that Eric, who is normally a fan, makes no mention of any rosés, which I also regularly take with both Chinese and Indian dishes. (In France, rosé is the default selection in both types of restaurant.) Full points to Eric on beer and Asian food, a piece of conventional wisdom long overdue for debunking and a combination that I find lessens the pleasure of both food and drink.

In the past this Beedle took care of a party of five friends of mine. He is condescending, negative and very rude. Finally he offer his services of "masseuse" through a card he carries at all times. We all were married doctors. Please, be aware of this individual.

Off-dry whites, as Eric suggests, have often worked well for me, especially with lighter Indian fare. Among the best pairings I’ve ever had, anywhere, was a bhel poori (complex, doughy appetizer with puffed rice, potatoes, onion, noodles, tamarind, mint chutney, mango powder and cilantro) and a minerally, peachy, peary Spatlese Riesling (Markus Molitor). The wine’s and the food’s many flavors went back and forth with each other, endlessly, it seemed. Lightly sweet whites (two that Eric has recommended in the past are the Francois Pinon Vouvray Les Trois Argiles and the Abbazia di Novacella Kerner) have also done very well with samosas and chicken curries and even eggplant. My few experiences pairing such whites with lamb, though, as Mr. Dolinski favors, have been mixed. I’ve had success with a flavorful and light lamb biryani, but it was the dish’s spices and rice that made it sing, much less so the lamb itself.
For meatier lamb kebabs and curries, and especially for hot spicy Indian, my guilty pleasure go-to is a very sweet and ridiculously inexpensive South African Shiraz, Jam Jar.

Grignolino, a light red wine, would pair well with some Indian dishes.

excellent article and choice of topic! have been looking for this info forever.

What's an aromatic, floral, spicy wine that is not too dry? Gewuztraminer!

As far as I'm concerned, there is no better wine for Indian food.

I would think that Gewurtraminer would go well with many different Indian dishes.

This may not help considering the wide variety of taste sensations offered by Indian cuisine, but with Butter Chicken, a Cote-Rotie is my go-to wine.

What about Gewürztraminer?