In the UK, curry is a national obsession, with the Tikka Masala often voted the nation’s favourite dish. Yet the aromatic spices of Indian cooking can make it a difficult cuisine to pair with wine.
Generally speaking, spice increases your perception of bitterness, acidity and alcohol burn of a wine, and decreases the perception of body, richness, sweetness and fruitiness.
Consequently, full-bodied, fruity wines, or sweet wines, tend to pair best with medium to hot dishes, such as a Merlot or Shiraz. A fresh and fruity wine can work well with milder dishes, such as a Sauvignon Blanc, while rich, yoghurt or cream-based dishes can work well with the a rich white wines such as an oaked Chardonnay or Semillon.
Every palate, of course, if different, and one person’s perfect pairing can be another’s nightmare.
The following restaurants have pairing spice with wines off to a fine art, as proven by the clutch of Michelin stars they hold between them, and high scores received by our Wine List Confidential team of expert reviewers.
They represent just a handful of Indian restaurants in the capital which not only offer stunning Indian cuisine, but an equally impressive wine list, with thought and attention paid to both aspects of the dining experience.
Wine List Confidential is a wine list ratings website and mobile app designed to be a transparent, straightforward way to connect wine lovers with the best wine-focused restaurants.
Using a numeric rating system, Wine List Confidential allows wine lovers to quickly compare the wine offer in restaurants, whatever the food or format. Using a simple 100-point scale, Wine List Confidential scores restaurants on the most important aspects of their wine offering – from pricing and service, to the range, size and originality of the selection. These individual ratings are then used to create an overall Wine List Confidential Score for every restaurant reviewed.
The free-to-use resource will initially focus on London’s top restaurant and wine venues, but is set to expand to cover other major cities around the world.
Click through for our pick of Wine List Confidential-rated Indian restaurants, and what our experts had to say about their wine lists….
