Which wine matches best with Indian food? - your verdict

A third of you (33%) like to drink aromatic whites with your curry according to the result of our first on-line poll this month. But who’d have reckoned that 20% of you prefer a fruity red or that 12% drink rosé, a situation you certainly wouldn’t have predicted a couple of years ago? Less surprising is that only a minority (11%) drink dry white and that a full quarter of you eschew wine altogether and prefer beer.

I chose the categories with some care because I think they all have their virtues. India is a vast subcontinent and its food covers a huge range of tastes and flavours, some a good deal hotter than others. Dishes tend to arrive at the same time which makes accurate matching problematic. Most people go for simple refreshment (hence the popularity of beer) but wine can be an enjoyable option too. And there’s no reason why - as with other meals - you shouldn’t put more than one bottle on the table.

Aromatic whites such as Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer certainly have their role to play but are less successful with some dishes than others. I like them best with the kind of fragrant, more delicate food you find in upmarket modern Indian restaurants. With seafood and vegetables rather than meat-based curries which are better with fruity reds such as Zinfandel, Pinotage or fruity reds from the Douro. Even Rioja can be good with a rogan josh. The full bodied fruity rosés that are so popular now have a similar effect. If a wine will go with a barbecue - as these rosés do - it will go with a curry.

You were obviously less convinced by dry whites but I find their freshness and crispness can work in a similar way to a lager with milder curries like kormas or with spicy snacks like bhajis and pakoras. A simple Vin de Pays des Cotes de Gascogne is a good  choice here.

Which brings me to beer and curry. I’ll be writing about this at greater length in due course but have just one thing to suggest at this point. Next time you have a curry try an IPA (Indian Pale Ale) instead of a lager. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised . . .

What do you usually drink with a curry? Let us know your favourite sip!