The Auswine Forum

Help again please friends!?
Need a mix of wines for a banquet style dinner of Indian food mostly milder dishes to get the most out ot all the wines.
I've read enough experiences here to be keen to take a riesling but don't own many so I don't know what to seek out that will be the right style. What about a Skillogallee Riesling or something Eden Valley? Am I looking for a touch of sweetness? Which examples spring to mind?
Any suggestions on what to look for in a pinot gris or Sav?
Also, Rockfords Alicante seems to be a favourite. Anything else in that vein? I'm assuming that means some nice Rose's will work.
Any suggestions for a young grenache?
What about the right type of young Pinot Noir? I'd be looking for something with the up front fruit yea? Maybe an Ata Rangi?
Would Hunter Vally semillon generally be the wrong style?
And one last thing, would a fruit driven shiraz like a St Henri be wasted up against indian?
If you have one single suggestion we sould know about sing out! Want it to be a good night

Hey Rocknoise, I'll answer for the Riesling. You're right, get something with a bit of sweetness and plenty of flavour.
If Australian, think the Frogmore Creek FGR. I'm also keen to try the Vertigo but havent tracked it down yet. Anything with about 25grams of sugar or a little more will work.
If NZ, Felton Road and Pegasus bay are winners for me. The one called "Riesling" , not the Block 1 or the Dry.
If Germany, Anything other than a Trocken will work. There are a few QbA level wines that should work, Schloss Lieser, Willi Schafer, Donnhoff if you can find it, or even Dr Loosen or Max Ferd Richter.

If Rose then a fruitier one, The Rockford or Turkey Flat or Charles Melton would do (caveat - I haven't bought any of these for a few years).

Gewurztraminer is a possibility. Pinot Gris doesn't do it for me with Indian unless its a big one, a la Zind Humbrecht.

Dry reds of any sort don't work for me at all.

hope this helps,
AB

thanks for the advice so far...
hey Wizz where to you look for your sweetness advice? Wine makers notes?

Being unoaked and reasonably fruity, Teusner Joshua GSM may suit, their Salsa rose too. Haven't tried a Turkey Flat rose for some years now but it'd be worth considering - from memory, the couple of earlier vintages I tried seemed to have a touch of sweetness. Tahbilk riesling is usually less dry than most other Australian rieslings I've tried but haven't had any for probably a couple of vintages. Petaluma Hanlin Hill 05(?) was a riesling less dry than a lot of other rieslings I've had too. Perhaps a bit left-field but I think Tahbilk's roussanne 08 could work well with indian food, has nice rounded mouthfeel.

Cheers

daz

But perhaps these may suit too:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/st ... 40,00.html

rocknoise wrote:thanks for the advice so far...
hey Wizz where to you look for your sweetness advice? Wine makers notes?

Sometimes the sugar levels will appear on the front or back label in some form, even if it is subtle - Frogmore Creek FGR = "Forty Grams Residual" for instance, and the one in the article Daz linked two has 'RS37" in the wine name. Winemakers seem sensitive to this sort of thing, people wont ask for an offdry wine and apparently they are difficult to place on wine lists, but seem to like them when they try them. Ask the retailer you're buying from - if they are worth their salt they should know.

Also take a look at the alcohol level in Riesling. Dry Riesling will usually be 12% or more. The off dry ones are often around 10%, and in German wines sometimes lower.

BTW, two Aussies in this style that seem to get peoples attention that I do NOT like are the Petaluma Project Co and the Pewsey Vale Prima.

cheers

Andrew

A Pewsey Vale riesling or Leo Buring riesling (both from eden valley), would be my choice, especially if you are budgeting.

If hot curries are on the agenda, why not beer?

Otherwise, if milder things are on offer, rieslings or even a chardonnay could work I think, especially the cremier curries (eg mild chicken butter curry).

I would steer clear of reds though.....

Monghead.

Moscato can also work well with Indian. Sometimes I take sparkling rose out to Indian, or sparkling red, but also am happy to stay with beer.

Like all countries' cuisine, Indian is quite varied. Beef curries (rare up north) can match well with some Pinots. If you are mainly concerned with what goes with the spicier dishes, an off-dry reisling or similar is a good choice, but avoid obvious oak. After three months of Indian food I found beer was the best accompaniment (mind you that may be because wine was hard to find!). Don't forget there are lots of beer styles to try out.

Cheers,

Mark

Try a Sparkling Shiraz such as Seppelt with a few years age. I was quite shocked at how well this combination worked with Indian Curries.

So would an "Auslese" level sweetness be too sweet ?

If not, Bellarmine Auslese Riesling from Pemberton is quite widely available. I love that stuff ! Quite tropically flavoured. You should be able to find some in your better independent retailers.

....was going to suggest Bellarmine too! If the Auslese is a bit high in sugar, they make a couple of drier versions; there is an 'off-dry' version labelled 'riesling' and then there's 'riesling dry'. All around $17 last time I saw them.

Cheers,

Dave.

I'm sure you have already had the dinner by now, but for future reference I see nothing wrong with a drier riesling with that style of food. It really is more of a food wine than the sweeter styles.