3 Wines to Drink with Chicken Curry

Is your chicken curry sweet? Creamy? Fiery? The answers to these questions will help you choose a wine. Here are a few directions to try.

Off-dry whites with fiery curries: When you drink lightly sweet wines with spicy food, the wine tastes less sweet and quells the burn of the curry. Off-dry Rieslings are especially great with chile-laden coconut-milk based sauces; they taste like a refreshing spritz of lime. Look for lightly sweet kabinett or spätlese styles of Rieslings from Germany or off-dry Riesligns from Oregon or Australia. Another option: If you like richly textured wines, try off-dry Chenin Blanc from places like Vouvray and Savennièrres.

Dry, rich whites with mild creamy curries: Fruity, unoaked or lightly oaked Chardonnay, like those from Australia or cooler parts of California have enough body to pair with creamier curries. If you don't mind exceptionally floral, fragrant wines, try Gewürztraminer, which smells like rose petals and tropical fruit.

Fruity, low-tannin reds with mild tomato-based curries: The juiciness and lightly spicy flavors in Grenache from France or Spain are great with the fragrant spices in curry and have enough acidity to mesh with the tomatoes. Inexpensive New World Pinot Noir can also work well.

Kristin Donnelly is a former Food & Wine editor and author of the forthcoming The Modern Potluck (Clarkson Potter, 2016). She is also the cofounder of Stewart & Claire, an all-natural line of lip balms made in Brooklyn.

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