Wine and curry: a match made in heaven?

Despite popular misconception, Indian food and wine can make a highly successful pairing — as demonstrated by a recent F&B promotion at a Dubai resort.

One&Only Royal Mirage hosted chef Narayan Rao from India in a week-long Indo-European culinary experience in conjunction with France’s Domaine Weinbach winery, to teach guests about pairing Indian food with wine.

Held at the property’s colourful restaurant Nina, the event saw Rao working together with the outlet’s resident chef Suprabhat Chowdhury to create a degustation menu which was then matched with selected bottles from the renowned Alsace winery.

According to Rao, the menu was “based on the existing concept of Nina and a blend of traditional Indian cooking with a Western European aesthetic value to the dishes”.

“The food planned for the promotion had subtle flavours to match the selection of wines,” he added.

One&Only’s head sommelier Eduardo Contreras elaborated: “We presented two different menus, one modern and the other traditional.

“Each one shows to a certain point what we can find in typical Indian cuisine and also its evolution, which consists of the search of new fusions, new flavours, textures and cooking techniques.

“Generally speaking, Indian cuisine offers a great variety of spices. This produces complex sensations, with numerous harmonies,” he continued.

“The wines of Alsace, with their own floral, fruity, mineral and complex characteristics, provide interesting support to this type of food. For each dish we focused on various textures, colours, flavours and aromas to find the right pairing.

“An example is the wonderful Salmon Tikka with the Weinbach Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg 2007. You can find a parallel in the textures and flavours.”

Rao said the motivation behind the promotion had been “to encourage people to look beyond the traditional Indian cuisine like murg tikka, makhani, curries and vindaloos”.

“We also wanted to enhance the aesthetic appeal of one of the most talked-about and fast-growing cuisine trends,” he added.

“Indian cuisine has for generations been engrained within the region due to its proximity to India. We are pleased to observe the growing number of Asian restaurants, which promotes a strong future ahead.”

According to Contreras, the event was also assisting with consumer wine education.

“Discovering new wines, new regions and new ways of understanding gastronomy helps people not only to discover new pleasures but to better understand what is behind a glass of wine,’ he said.

“If we further educate the consumer we can further the development of the industry and achieve better wines, better service and better satisfaction overall.”

Contreras added that consumer vine knowledge appeared to be on the rise in Dubai.

“Due to [the emirate’s] growing diverse expatriate residential base, combined with an impressive growth in tourism, interest in wines has shown a formidable increase,” he noted.

“With this in mind, the quality of the offerings available has progressed dramatically over the years.

TOP TIPPLE FOR SUMMER:

“Kendall Jackson Rosé from California, which is fresh and fruity and available at the Beach Bar and Grill; and Matanzas Creek Sauvignon Blanc, made in a fumé blanc style, which is a ‘food-friendly’ sauvignon with a more complex character than many sauvignons on the market today. This is available at Eauzone.”

— One&Only Royal Mirage head sommelier Eduardo Contreras

For more information on the Domaine Weinbach winery, visit: www.domaineweinbach.com.