Oenologist and wine buff Ed Soon, co-author of Wine with Asian Food: New Frontiers in Taste, picks the perfect vino to match your meal each month

Indian food
The cuisine of India, country of countries, is diverse: Mughal pilau, Goan seafood, Seekh kebabs and Punjab vegetarian. How do wines fit in?
    Dishes heavy on spice, not chilli, can be paired with Portuguese vinho verdes and Italian prosecco – these lemonzesty wines will pare down the spice. For snacks such as samosas, pakoras, papadums and murukkus, ignore the spice and match the salt. Crisp chablis or sweet spumante will work with a contrast of tastes. For aromatic rogan josh, kofta, korma and husaini (lamb, raisins and almonds), a fruit-forward rosé will tame their sweetness. With tandoori, mediumbodied red and white wines with hints of oak will downplay the dish’s smokiness. Choose varietals such as rioja and soave superiore.
    Fruity red wines such as pinot noir, Chianti classico or Sicilian nero d’avola yearn for creamy kormas and tangy dhansaks (lentil curry). The wines’ soft tannins envelope the fatty textures while the fruit matches the tang. Treat yoghurt-based dishes as you would creamy ones. Go for a textural match and to hell with the wines’ nuances. Spices take the lead here so uncork generic blended shiraz or merlot for your tikka and bhindi kadhi (okra curry).
    For chilli-piquant food, avoid high-alcohol wines. Chilli’s heat comes from capsaicin, an alkaloid that is soluble in alcohol. Before any high-alcohol wine washes the heat down your throat, it’ll spread it around your mouth in a short, intense burst. Pair late-harvest wines with a fiery vindaloo – their sweetness will carry the chilli away. So who’s ordering lime juice or beer these days?