The right wine choice can really complete a meal, bringing out unexpected flavours and adding to the gamut of tastes you experience. Choosing the right wine can be a fine art, particularly with Indian cuisine where you already have bold and controlling flavours to begin with!
As many of you know, we have a “bring your own” policy when it comes to drinks at The Spice Club. Some guests have found selecting the right wine to bring and match with Indian food a little bit tricky and understandably so..walking down the wine aisle of a super market can be confusing when there is so much variety available on the shelves nowadays. 
I also used to feel a little confused about choosing wine until I took a few wine tasting classes (which contributed as credits to my undergraduate degree may I add!). These classes cut through the “snobbery” that is sometimes associated with drinking wine and cut straight to the chase so at the end of the course I had (what I considered) a pretty decent understanding of pairing wine with food and most importantly, establishing the sort of wine I liked and didn’t like.
To help you in your wine pairing journey, I thought I would clear the choice-fog with some personal suggestions and also the recommendation from wine expert, Omar from Didsbury Wine Club (a great wine club that holds regular wine tastings in Didsbury).
My personal favourite wine to drink with Indian food is a German Riesling. It’s quite sweet white wine which I find compliments the spiciness of Indian food really well. Also, it goes well with vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes which works quite well as an all rounder at our supper clubs as we serve a diverse range of dishes. I also love Gewurztraminer-this is another German white wine. (It’s names apparently translates as “spice traminer”). Again being fairly sweet in taste, I 
love how this wine cuts through the spices in Indian food. Also, I always think Gewurztraminer tastes like lychees (I heart lychees) which is just another reason that is is one of my favourites!
So enough of what I think, let’s see what our wine expert’s suggestions are…
Omar says: For meatier dishes, I would suggest Shiraz because it is a red that goes very well with spicy bold dishes. It is in itself slightly spicy and tannic and so compliments the spice and heat in the dishes..Shiraz is always a good choice as it works well with Indian food without overpowering the food or being overpowered whilst enhancing the dining experience. Champagne or a good Cava is also great paired with Indian food as their texture just works brilliantly with a dishes with complexity and varying levels of spice!
I hope this has helped you a little bit and guided you a little bit in the right direction. If you have any questions about wine or upcoming supper clubs, feel free to drop me a line.
