Let’s make this as easy as possible. No cooking and no fussing, follow these directions and you will arrive at a delicious dinner destination.
First stop, sushi night! Sushi is one of these tricky food-wine pairing combinations. Wasabi, pickled ginger, soy sauce, raw fish, sweetened rice – gah – it is a pairing nightmare.
Luckily, all of the hard work has been done, the solution to this pairing problem is Riesling. Riesling beautifully combines all of the sushi and wine problems into a tasty, sushi and wine solution. This combo has been one of my personal passion projects and a fantastic Riesling to choose on sushi night is Dr. Loosen ($20.40) from Germany. If you think sushi is delicious, you need to stop and get the Doctor for your next sushi night.
Next stop, curry night! This is another pairing fiasco, what are the dominant flavours in curry? It changes from bowl to bowl. Curry is also tricky because of the variation in spice. If the dish is very spicy you will need to choose a wine with a higher sweetness level. If the food simply has rich flavours and not too much spice, a wine with a lower sweetness level will be perfect. For a low spice curry, a Gewurztraminer is absolutely delicious. The Gray Monk ($20.55) from Canada is my go-to for curry night.
Final stop, taco night! Seriously, what are the ingredients for tacos, it seems like they can literally be anything wrapped up into a scrumptious tortilla. No matter, they are tasty. This is another food that can have a great variation in spice, if you are getting the face-melting spicy tacos, you will want a sweeter wine. If you go for a slightly spicy version, your wine only needs a little sweetness.
For tacos, a White Zinfandel is fruity, a little sweet and super cheap. The Sutter Home ($11.85) would be a great stop on route to taco night.
If you can’t remember all of the different combinations once you are out making all of the right stops for a delicious night, just remember this: Riesling is the secret weapon. It is a perfect wine for slightly spicy, tricky foods. When in doubt, get the Riesling and you won’t end up with a signed palate or the sensation of biting metal in your mouth.
