There’s something odd going on in the on-trade: for a great glass of wine, people are heading to Indian restaurants. Some of the capital’s best wine lists can now be found there. OK, so we’re not talking high-street curry houses here, but smart establishments – the kind that might have a Michelin star.

These lists are put together by fanatical sommeliers convinced that Indian cuisine has as many pairing opportunities as traditionally wine-friendly European cuisine, sourcing from a gamut of grape varieties from all over the vinous world and working closely with ingredients to understand how each element functions. Sommeliers such as Laurent Chaniac.

THE RIGHT SPICE

The Frenchman loves pairing wine with spice. He looks after the wine list at The Cinnamon Club in London’s Westminster, and its newest opening, Cinnamon Kitchen– both highly rated Indian restaurants. The first caters for big spenders with a traditional outlook, while the second, a more casual eatery, finds customers more willing to experiment.

Chaniac has spent the past few weeks working on the new 250-bin list at The Cinnamon Club – the first proper rework in three years. His focus? Grape varieties. ‘For reds, we are showcasing fruit that carries a lot of freshness, wines that aren’t too tannic, and for whites, aromatic varieties such as Riesling, Pinot Gris and white Rhône – Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier. The key thing that you have to remember is to have wines that are more powerful than the dish. The wines need to have a big personality. And I’m not looking for sweetness – I go more for fruit definition and a balance of acidity and tannins. Good wines, at the end of the day,’ he explains.

Australia has a big appeal for Chaniac, and the country’s wines now outnumber French wines on the list. ‘They generally carry more fruit and are less dry, which is what we want,’ he says. South Africa, too, has a fair few new listings. And he would have put more Portuguese reds on if he thought he could sell them. ‘I love their fleshy, upfront fruit with silky smooth tannins – perfect for this food, but they’re tricky, huh?’

Another focus for the new list is wines that show minerality. ‘It goes hand in hand with a wine’s freshness. A wine with minerality and freshness has a similar effect to yoghurt on hot dishes,’ he reveals. He finds a ready source of these wines through organic and biodynamic producers in the Languedoc and Loire Valley, making a note on the wine list to alert customers of their status. ‘I know these wines can be strange sometimes – they smell like the bruised apples in my grandma’s cellar, but it’s all to do with the wild yeast, which gives freshness, and which also goes very well with this cuisine.’

Cinnamon Kitchen, meanwhile, has 130 wines on the list, also focusing on grape varieties, and also drawing from all over the world. Chaniac introduced 500ml carafes to the restaurant three months ago, which are going down well, and – perhaps most importantly – encouraging customers to experiment.

HEADING SOUTH

Customers are also happily experimenting at Quilon. The St James restaurant might not have the services of a top sommelier, but the Michelin-starred southern Indian restaurant has put a lot of thought into its wine list, specially devised by wine consultant and Master of Wine Peter McCombie.

The 137-bin list is split by style. ‘It’s easiest for us to sell and easiest for the customer,’ says manager Santanu, who says that Chablis used to be the mainstay before they launched the new list, but now it’s Riesling, with Pinot Noir the biggest-selling red.

Quilon has also introduced 80 wines available by 375ml carafes, which accounts for 30% of sales, with customers choosing them mostly to experiment. The cuisine is Southern Indian, which means no cream or butter but plenty of coconut – a factor that is clearly going to affect the wine selection. ‘We’ve found that medium-bodied wines fare better in general, with a little more sweetness to cope with the coconut,’ says Santanu.

Chablis used to be the mainstay

before they launched the new

list, but now it’s Riesling

The newest kid on the block is Trishna, off Marylebone High Street. Austrian general manager Leo Kiem was a sommelier in a former life in Vienna, but is only too happy to step into the cellar again and is enjoying the challenge brought by the spicy cuisine. The list, at 160 bins, is one of the capital’s most exciting, with a focus on France, Italy, Germany and Austria.

‘All the theory that you learned before doesn’t apply with Indian cuisine. I never judge a wine on its own – I’ll always try it with the food, and the outcome is generally very interesting. When it comes to chilli and spice, wine behaves in a weird way,’ he concludes.

TRIAL & ERROR

His current favourite match is an Alsace Chasselas from Pierre Frick with Trishna’s mussels, cooked in coconut milk, ginger, shallots, lime and turmeric. It works – I’ve tried it. And if you were thinking that maybe a Gewürztraminer would have been a better option, you can think again. ‘Gewürz works with certain foods, but, most of the time, it’s just too overpowering, especially with fish,’ declares Kiem.

In fact, Kiem thinks there are many different wines out there that will go with Indian cuisine. ‘It’s just a matter of trial and error – even Bordeaux works when the fruit is upfront and the tannins are soft,’ he says. He recommends working closely with your suppliers. ‘You have to ask them what they think will go with what and let them give you samples to try,’ he advises.

Will this mindset ever trickle through to the high street? ‘The biggest stumbling block is the Indians themselves. Wine is not in their culture and they are scared it won’t work with food – but they just need to open their minds,’ says Kiem.

Jaimon George reckons he has opened his mind. The India-born manager of Asha’s Indian Restaurant and Bar in Birmingham has increased its wine sales by 20% since it launched its new wine list three months ago. He has replaced the pedestrian red and white category, displayed in order of price, and now sets out the list by style.

‘What’s happened is that, instead of going for their regular Shiraz, customers are choosing another wine in that same category, as well as spending more on wine,’ reports George, who worked closely on the list with sole supplier Matthew Clark. Wine training is next on his agenda, and he has courses scheduled for his staff in the coming months.

So does this mean an end to mundane Muscadet with tikka masala? Let’s hope so. Watch this space.