Cheers

Cheers

The Beverage Business Magazine for Full-Service Restaurants and Bars

  • Beverage Trends
    • Beer
    • Wine
    • Spirits
    • RTDs
    • Wine Reviews
    • Marketing
    • Operations
  • Recipes
    • What I’m Drinking Now
    • Submit a Drink Recipe
  • Resources
    • eRNDC Login
    • SG Proof Login
    • CORE: Children of Restaurant Employees
  • Events & Awards
    • Cheers Beverage Summit
    • Growth Brands
    • BevX Awards
    • Supplier Awards
  • Podcasts
  • E-News
    • E-News Subscribe
  • Digital Issues
  • Cheers@Home

Pairing Wine with Spicy Foods

01/18/2023

by: Marnie Old

dish of spicy food

Foods with spicy heat can be stimulating and enjoyable, but are also famously hard to pair successfully with wines.

Some wines are better equipped than others to handle dishes that are packing heat. But these bottles are often overlooked because they represent an exception to the normal wine-and-food pairing guidance of partnering “like with like.”

Wines that we describe as “spicy,” like bold Rhône blends or ripe floral whites, rarely taste their best when served alongside spicy foods. The key to avoiding such unflattering clashes is to grasp the sensory science behind the cause and effect.

We use the term “spicy” to describe aromatics in wine. However, spicy heat in food is completely unrelated. It’s a tactile sensation perceived as a mild form of pain.

Spicy foods seem to “burn” on contact with thermo-sensitive nerves. Chili peppers and ginger literally feel “hot.” We expect a cold drink to counteract spicy heat, but it doesn’t help much; we’re stuck with the burn until it fades on its own. However, if that drink contains alcohol, it can amplify the fiery sensation rather than reducing it.

Why? Alcohol acts as an irritant in this circumstance, inflaming the chemical burn for similar reasons as why spirits hurt when poured over a wound. Low-alcohol beers can pass muster with spicy fare, but once we get above 5% alcohol, the higher a drink’s alcoholic strength, the more the drinker will “feel the burn.” Since alcohol’s volatility is also highest at the warmest temperature, the spicy heat effect is even more intense in high-alcohol drinks that are not served chilled — like red wine.

Advertisement

As a result, spicy food is rarely flattering to full-bodied red wines, leaving them tasting boozier while flattening their fruit, leaving the food seeming scorchingly hot. Lower-alcohol drinks served cold work much better, particularly those wines that also feature a touch of residual sweetness to soothe the palate, like riesling or vinho verde.

Do your own taste test to master the relationship between alcohol & spicy heat

For a vivid illustration of the effects of alcohol on the palate when partnered with spicy food, screw up your courage and line up a bottle of your favorite hot sauce alongside samples of four drink options: a pale lager (like a pilsner or light beer), a mild low-alcohol white (like riesling or vinho verde), a bold high-alcohol red (like cabernet sauvignon or malbec) and a whiskey served neat (like rye or bourbon).

Taste each drink alone first, then again after a dab of hot sauce. Compare how the drink tastes before and after. Allow plenty of time between each round for your palate to recover, and see for yourself which option makes the most pleasant food partner when spicy heat plays a major role in the recipe.

Feature photo by emy on Unsplash.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

pairings VINsights wine

Last modified: 05/12/2023

Three mocktails at Omni Boston: Rio Perdido Faux ‘Rita, Pitaya Faux Mai Tai, and At Ta Boy. Previous Story:
Spirit-free Drink Recipes For 2023
The Lost Upstate Viva Magenta colored cocktail Next Story:
Viva Magenta Colored Cocktails

About the Author: Marnie Old

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Follow Us

Facebook
Twitter

In The News

  • FAT Brands Acquires Smokey Bones
  • WSWA Confirms Doug Shaw as Chairman of the Board
  • Russell’s Reserve Introduces Single Rickhouse Camp Nelson F
  • Campari Group To Distribute Miraval Wine
  • Basil Hayden Launches Malted Rye Whiskey
  • Baileys Bottles Chocolate Liqueur
More News >>

Featured Drink

  • If You Meet Sartana
    If You Meet Sartana cocktail

Drink Recipes

  • 7 Coffee Cocktails for 2023
  • If You Meet Sartana
  • Corralitos Negroni 
  • Great Basin Sour
  • Negroni Riffs We Love For 2023

Current Issue

Cheers Current Issue

Cheers Magazine

  • About Cheers
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Market Research

Events & Awards

  • Beverage Excellence Awards
  • Cheers Beverage Summit
  • Growth Brands Awards

Magazines

  • Cheers
  • Beverage Dynamics
  • StateWays
  • Beverage Wholesaler
  • Beverage Handbooks (research)

E-Newsletters

  • Better Bartending
  • Cheers
  • Beverage Dynamics
  • StateWays
  • Beverage Wholesaler
  • Beverage Universe
  • Cannabis Regulator
  • About EPG Brand Acceleration
  • Privacy Policy
© Cheers Magazine. All rights reserved.

Insert/edit link

Enter the destination URL

Or link to existing content

    No search term specified. Showing recent items. Search or use up and down arrow keys to select an item.