Former investment banker, Warren Edwardes, hosted our October tasting when he gave an interesting, entertaining and palate provoking presentation on “Wines and Spices”...
Warren founded Wine for Spice® in 2003 to specify and commission quality wines to complement Indian as well as other spicy food such as Szechwan Chinese, Indonesian, Malaysian, Thai and Mexican food.
Working on the principles that moderate but not low alcohol is required, and that fruitiness and residual sugar should rise in relation to the spiciness of the accompanying dish, Warren started his tasting with two very dry white wines, a still and a sparkling, suitable for accompanying mildly spiced dishes such as Chicken Korma. Next came three quite dry wines, a blush, a sparkling rosé and a red, which were chosen to accompany medium spiced dishes such as Rogan Josh. Two off-dry wines followed, a sparkling and a semi-sparkling, and these were selected to accompany hot & spicy dishes such as a Madras Curry. Finally, Warren showed a way to cut the effect of tannin in red wine, which can emphasise the heat of a curry. He presented a dessert wine and two types of Pepsi Cola and each was then mixed with red wine. The resulting ‘blends’ were not to everyone’s taste and it was agreed that this was probably an acquired taste! Each group of wines was accompanied by a different curry sauce and naan bread – kindly provided by Patricia Noble.
Warren’s wines are available from Hyde Park Wines, www.hydeparkwines.co.uk and may also be sampled at the Hitchin Wine and Food Festival which takes place in Hitchin Town Hall on the 19th and 20th November 2011.
