Perfect Pairings: Which wines go best with Indian food?

It’s a question which crops up in discussions among Indian wine aficionados regularly, says Ruma Singh. A select group of invitees were happy to discover some very interesting options at a wine tasting of Domaines Schlumberger Grand Cru Riesling and Gewurztraminer wines held at Ista’s Indian fine dining restuarant, Zaman, in Bangalore.

Guests at the dinner, including Vishwapreet Cheema, Michelle Sebastian of Ista, Rishad Minocher and Ruma Singh at the far end.

An unusual menu was put together by Chef Subroto Goswami at a sit down dinner which saw four courses paired with fine wines from the Alsace region of France.
To introduce the wines to the guests, was Schlumber’s Directeur Commercial, Jean-Marie Winter, who peppered his introduction with some interesting insights into the region in general and the wines in particular. Alsace, being so close to the border of France and Germany, has switched nationality no less than five times, he said! He also shared some insights from a rare vertical tasting that he had overseen some time ago — 27 vintages of Domaines Sclumberger wines from 1945 to the present day — a rare treat. “We discovered the most impressive vintages were 1962, 1983 and 1985,” he said. Now Riesling and gewurtztraminer fans know which vintages to look out for!

The dinner started with fried soft shell crabs marinated with Indian spices, combined with a Grand Cru Saering Riesling 2006, a delightful, perfectly balanced wine with floral and fruity overtones. It went on with pomfret crusted with cumin, coriander and sea salt served with mustard oil charred asparagus, which combined well with the Grand Cru Kitterle 2001, a rich yet subtle wine, with mineral tones and distinctly fruity perfume.

Sclumberger’s Jean-Marie Winter raises a toast with Kripal Amanna and Sudeep Gurtu.

The classic Gewurtztraminer Grand Cru Kessler was impossible to fault with the braised chicken breast with lotus stem fritters/ morels stuffed with figs, raisins and herbs served with saffron pilaf and mooli salad, while the Grand Cru Spiegel Pinot Gris set off the pineapple carpaccio and Indian dessert selection to a treat.

Getting set for a fine dining experience wines from Domaines Schlumberger.
The guests, thoroughly appreciatiative of the innovative combinations, pronounced the wines perfectly capable of handling Indian food of an even greater spice content! All the while, Mr Winter kept feeding the fascinated gathering with nuggests of wine-related information, like the history of the Gewurtztraminer, and how Alsace was the only region under AOC which named the wines by the grape!