What wine goes with Indian food?

Off-dry Gewürztraminer or Riesling is the best wine for Indian food, because a touch of sweetness cools the spice, and their perfumed fruit stands up to big flavors that flatten most wines.

Indian food has lots of spice, layers of aromatics, and often heat. Most wines just get lost, and high-alcohol reds make the chili burn hotter. You want wine with a little sweetness, lower alcohol and loads of fruit. Rosé and bubbles are great backups.

4 bottles that actually work with Indian food

• 1. Chateau Ste. Michelle Gewürztraminer

  about $10

  Gewürztraminer · grocery stores

  Gewürztraminer smells like lychee, rose and ginger, which is why it loves curry. Slightly sweet and very perfumed, it is the classic match and only ten dollars.

• 2. La Marca Prosecco

  about $16

  Glera · nearly everywhere

  Light, fruity and fizzy. The bubbles cut through ghee and fried appetizers, and samosas with Prosecco is a great way to start the night.

• 3. Fleurs de Prairie Rosé

  about $16

  Grenache blend · grocery and wine shops

  Dry rosé with strawberry fruit and good acidity. It works with tandoori chicken and milder curries, and it is the safe pick for a table ordering lots of dishes.

• 4. Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages

  about $13

  Gamay · grocery and most wine shops

  If you want red, this is the one. Light, fruity, almost no grip, and you can serve it cool. Works with lamb rogan josh and tandoori.

Depends how you are cooking it

Butter chicken or tikka masala

Creamy and mild. Gewürztraminer, an off-dry Riesling, or a rosé.

Vindaloo or very spicy curries

Go sweeter and lower in alcohol. Off-dry Riesling or a Moscato.

Tandoori and grilled dishes

Smoky and less saucy. Rosé or a chilled light red.

Saag paneer and vegetable curries

Earthy and green. Sauvignon Blanc or a dry rosé.

What to skip

Big, high-alcohol reds

Alcohol turns chili heat up, and tannin tastes bitter next to spice.

Oaky Chardonnay

Oak and spice clash. The wine tastes woody and the food tastes harsher.

Also worth a look

• What wine goes with Thai food?
• What wine goes with Chinese food?
• What wine goes with chicken?

Last checked 2026-10-04.