3 Levels Of Spice: Curry & Fizz

28th November 2018

pairing_fizz_with_curry

You ever had curry and sparkling wine before, you ever wanted to know what level of spice works best with the sparkling wine, well here are my thoughts on the combination.

Three different levels of spice: Mild, Medium and Hot.

First I had to make the curry, I placed 3 different pots on the stove and wrote down which was going to be which.

  1. I started by opening a can of chopped tomatoes and emptying one can into each pot
  2. Then I chopped up one fresh tomato and one garlic for each pot
  3. Then I diced up a green pepper into small cubes and placed them in
  4. I chopped three carrots into thin chip-like slices and placed them in
  5. I peeled three potatoes and diced them up into small cubes like I did the green pepper
  6. Now for the spicy part, I placed in some curry powder and red-hot chillis into each one, putting a little in the Mild one, a little more in the Medium and than a bit more in the Hot one to create the 3 levels of spices.
  7. I chopped up four chicken breasts and divided them up equally into the three pots
  8. I then turned the stove on and started cooking, after a lot of stirring, I dished it all up
  9. Voilà, you’re done, your now ready to sit down with your family or friends, or perhaps that love interest of yours and pick some Champagne or sparkling wine

With the food pairing I did, I picked out Medot a Sparkling Wine from Slovenia, Roger Brun a Champagne from, you guessed it France and Aikya a Sparkling Wine from India.

Tasting Notes for Medot: “Almost caramel glazed apple and pears on the nose. A ripe yellow stone fruit tasting experience – a wonderful example of Slovenian sparkling wine.” 

Tasting Notes for Roger Brun: “Fresh yellow fruits with a hint of lemon zest on the nose, lemon pulp and green and yellow fruits on the taste.”

Tasting Notes for Aikya: “Herbal and green apple aromas, green fruits and a hint spice in the mouth.”

I’ll present this from mild to hot going through the Sparkling Wine and Champagne, giving my thoughts on which one paired best with each spice.

Mild 

  • Medot – “It complements each other, they ride alongside each other very well, none try to stand out rather flow peacefully alongside each other.”
  • Roger Brun – “The wine comes in on a wave, then splashes down and creates a perfect combination.”
  • Aikya – “The wine comes in spicier than the curry adding a new element to the meal.”

The Roger Brun Champagne was my favourite combination out of the three, but I do have to say the Aikya did create an interesting taste.

Medium 

  • Medot – “The wine comes in stronger, but then is told to sit in the corner by the spice, allowing the spice to retain centre stage”
  • Roger Brun – “The wine dances like a little troll on the tip of your tongue for a majority of the time it’s in your mouth.”
  • Aikya – “The wine enters and flips everything on its head, the two come together to create a new flavour, which I was pleasantly surprised to taste.”

The Aikya was my favourite out of the three with this time, this sparkling wine has an interesting way with curry.

Hot

  • Medot – “The wine sits in the middle of the tongue as the spice looks on from the rear of the mouth.”
  • Roger Brun – “The wine ignites a fire on the tip of your tongue leaving the longest after spicy taste.”
  • Aikya – “The wine enters and ignites the spiciness”.

This time Medot takes my favourite of the three, although yet again I have to mention the Aikya for its way to make it even spicier in the mouth.

So there you have it, Roger Brun is best with the mild spice, Aikya took best in the Medium and Medot is best in the Hot curry.

Although I do have to say that Aikya did leave the most memorable taste in all three, Although it only won in one of the three spices it seems this Indian sparkling wine knows what it’s doing when it comes to curry to create an experience you’ll remember.

Oliver Walkey

Oliver Walkey

WSET 2 Journalist focused on sharing Champagne and Sparkling Wine reviews and cocktails to the world.