The Best Type Of Wine To Drink With Spicy Chicken

When you're serving a meaty grilled steak, wine pairing is as easy as grabbing a bottle of, say, cabernet. With spicy foods, however, things get a bit more complicated.

A wine that pairs beautifully with pad Thai might be a bust with a fiery curry, and then there's something like Nashville hot chicken, where you could be inclined to reach for a can of beer rather than attempting a wine pairing at all. But just because you wouldn't typically think of wine first to drink with a particular dish doesn't mean there isn't a great pairing to be had. 

White wine is typically a winner when it comes to fish and poultry dishes thanks to its fruit-forward flavors and acidity. If you're looking for the perfect glass of vino to go with a spicy poultry dish like jerk chicken, the best place to start might be with a white wine that's a little sweet, specifically a riesling.

Off-dry wines are typically paired with spicy foods in part because their slight sweetness coats your tongue and helps reduce your perception of heat. For some spicy foods, fruity reds like grenache and shiraz can be a good choice, but for spicy chicken dishes, a riesling tends to hold up even better. The white wine is also low in tannins, which helps it not overpower lighter fare like chicken and fish.

The reason why rieslings specifically work better might come from how they are served. They're typically poured ice cold, which is particularly refreshing and a bit more desirable when you're consuming something spicy than a room-temperature wine might be. Rieslings also tend to be lower in alcohol than some other white wine options, and a bit more easy drinking, which will allow you to consume more wine with that spicy meal without finding yourself overly intoxicated before dessert.

Speaking with InsideHook, sommelier Beverly Crandon suggests pairing a spicy dish like jerk chicken with Alsatian Riesling. Crandon likes riesling specifically from the Alsace region in northeast France. She says riesling from that area gets exposed to the sun's rays for a longer period of time than is typical for the grape elsewhere.

The result of that extra time in the sun is a wine with a good amount of natural acidity that works well with the spice from the chicken. Alsace rieslings are typically dry or off-dry rather than overly sweet like rieslings from other areas in Europe and will have flavors and aromas of orchard fruits such as apples, lemons, and pears. The soil from the area also imparts a bit of minerality to the wine that shines through when paired with spicy food.

If you don't have access to an Alsatian riesling, or want something a little sweeter, a German riesling can also be a good choice. German rieslings tend to be a bit sweeter than their French counterparts, again due to the climate where the grapes are grown. Next time you're having spicy chicken for dinner, grab a bottle and give the pairing a try.