Spicey Wine Picks

Filed in archive Food and Wine on October 29, 2006

I love spicy food, but admittedly, I don't often drink wine with spicy food because it's hard to find a vino that can handle the heat. If I'm not drinking alcohol, then a large glass of ice tea does the trick. Otherwise, beer seems to be the best, and easiest, choice to make.

But, not necessarily the case according to this article from GlobeandMail.com:

The key elements for wine drinkers to look for in a piquant-food partner are ample fruitiness and brisk acidity. Fruit almost always complements intense spice-it adds complexity and balance, and helps to quench the heat, especially when the wine is supported with a dollop of residual sugar.

Acidity, meanwhile, cleanses the palate, just as the bitterness in beer does. For the record, there are two exceptions to the rule: dishes with extreme, vaporizing heat (as in a few Thai specialties and anything involving habanero peppers) and foods high in vinegar, such as chutneys or Korean kimchee (pickled cabbage). In these cases, wine would be overpowered by the spice, so stick with ice-cold lager. Not only will your palate be too numb to appreciate any flavour, you won't be wasting a bottle of good wine.

Some specific wines they recommend:

• Yalumba Eden Valley Viognier 2004, $21.95


• Stadt Krems Sandgrube Grüner Veltliner 2005


• Rosenblum Cellars Zinfandel 2004, $18.95


• Willm Riesling Reserve 2004, $15.95