🌶️ How can you pair wine with spicy dishes to enhance their flavours❓
🎙️ On the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, you’ll hear the stories and tips that answer those questions in our chat with Cha McCoy, author of the terrific new book Wine Pairing for the People.
🔗 Link in bio
www.nataliemaclean.com/blog/podcast/why-are-most-wine-pairing-rules-wrong-for-global-cuisine-cha-mccoy-reveals-what-really-works/
🍇 Cha says that when a dish is truly spicy, she chooses bold wines that can match the intensity of jerk seasoning and its peppery character.
🏰 She looks for wines with their own spice, like a right-bank Merlot-focused Bordeaux or a Cabernet Franc.
🔥 Instead of cooling the heat, she pairs by mirroring the flavours.
🌿 For those who enjoy spice, she suggests matching the seasoning’s notes rather than contrasting them.
💥 She adds that many young Bordeaux wines show blueberry and bramble fruit, making them great partners for rich, spicy dishes.
🌍 Why do most wine-pairing guides ignore the traditions of global cuisines?
🍴 Cha says that early in her sommelier career, she noticed pairing guides focused on Western dishes while grouping global cuisines under a vague “ethnic” label, a term she notes was common in education but not one she uses.
❌ These books often gave blanket advice like “just get Riesling,” without cultural nuance.
✨ She wanted to question those frameworks and write a book that treats world cuisines with the diversity and specificity they deserve.
🗺️ How can you use wine pairings to explore under-the-radar wine regions instead of reaching for the same rosé or sparkling wine every time?
🍾 Cha aimed to avoid repeating the same sparkling wines and encourages exploring less familiar wine regions.
🍋 Her pairings are not prescriptive; she suggests alternatives like a Spanish Rosado instead of typical rosés.
She and her co-author, Layla, carefully reviewed each pairing to highlight the variety of expressions in rosé, Chardonnay, and sparkling wine.
🍷 Have you ever tried pairing wine with a spicy meal❓
Let me know in the comments 👇
@ChaSquared