What wine goes with Spicy food?

Pasta with hot italian sausage and red pepper flakes

~or~

Meditteranean fish stew with lots of hot sauce.

What wine (presumably red) would you serve?

IMHO, Thai food pairs very well with an off-dry Riesling or Gewurztraminer.

Josh, I would opt for a really good beer. Hot stuff just do not go with red wine so if you go with wine make it white and a little sweet.

Chianti, Sangiovese, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah.

Without spending a ton of bucks on any of it. You'll want something fairly assertive if you're having a red, and those aren't the kinds of dishes that True Geeks (tm) tend to serve when they're "appreciating the fine nuances".

An alternative is something like a Riesling, which will be less tasty but more noticeable somehow.

Rioja, Tempranillo, Argentine Malbec....

Damn. Gotta shut up before I name all the wines there are.

I am really surprised this has not been mentioned. With spicey food, usually Chinese or Korean we always have a sparkling wine, no exception. Beer goes well also but my wife is not a beer drinker.
Walt

[Robin Garr]

Pasta with hot italian sausage and red pepper flakes

~or~

Meditteranean fish stew with lots of hot sauce.

What wine (presumably red) would you serve?

Josh, in addition to all the other good advice you've received, you might want to have a look at an article and tasting note I wrote just this past Wednesday:

Fire Extinguishers

Sweet.

Thanks!

For the spicy sausages, something with a bit of oomph behind it, perhaps a big Zin might be ideal? Otherwise a Spicy Shiraz? Nothing too grand though.

For the fish, I still struggle to choose red wine with fish, although I acknowledge it can work (most likely with a dish like this). I'd fall back to something white from Alsace or equivalents from New world.

There have been a lot of posts on the WLDG over the years regarding this same subject. And it is generally accepted that hot foods, and red wines do not do well together because of the interaction of the capsaicin and the tannins. It seems to me that each exacerbates the other and neither wind up as being very good. There are so many foods that are enhanced by wine, and vice versa, that I simply would much prefer to drink beer. Josh, if you decide to go with a wine such as a zinfandel or other (either) high alcohol or big tannic red, I hope you will come back and tell us what you did and how it was.

And now a moment of heresy: With italian sausage with hot red pepper flakes, I like Firriato's Altavilla Grillo. Yeah, a WHITE. Even when it's refrigerator cold, the grillo has plenty of rustic flavor. I've done this many, many times and had good results.

Pasta with hot italian sausage and red pepper flakes

What wine (presumably red) would you serve?

Not with pasta, but my wife, who is Mexican, convinced me once to try Pinot Noir with spicy grilled Italian sausages. We serve them hot dog style with onions, jalapeños, chopped tomatoes and mayonnaise and ketchup. Damned if the combo doesn't work. So, now, whenever we grill spicy sausage, I look for a nice New World Pinot to serve with it.

Josh, if you decide to go with a wine such as a zinfandel or other (either) high alcohol or big tannic red, I hope you will come back and tell us what you did and how it was.

Will do!