FEELING THE BURN?
White wines to ease the pain
I was asked by a reader to investigate pairing wine with spicy foods.
Very spicy foods create an intense burning sensation that can numb the tastebuds. In the online magazine Live Science, researcher Paul Bosland said the chemical capsaicin, the active ingredient in spicy peppers, makes the mouth go numb because your body produces endorphins to block the pain.
This numbness also inhibits tasting whatever else is in your mouth, like wine. Is there a wine solution? Last week, I invited a group of spice and wine lovers to find out. I put together nine plates of varying degrees of heat and opened 20 different wines ranging from big tannic reds to sweet white wines. I also opened a few ciders.
The consensus: once you move beyond a certain level of chiliinduced heat, the only beverages you are able to taste are those with a certain amount of residual sugar. In general, red wines did little to dull the burn. The exception occurred with a pepper steak, which worked well with most reds, especially those with a little sweetness to them (Baco Noir 2015, Henry of Pelham, Ontario red, $16.70, SAQ # 270926).
The same was true for most dry white wines, though they did manage to refresh a touch more than red wine. But at a certain point, water was just as good.
Things got interesting with wines with significant amounts of residual sugar. The threshold seemed to be around 10 grams per litre. The Riesling we drank (Riesling 2015, Moyer Rd RR1, Niagara, Stratus, Ontario white, $22.15, SAQ # 13183432) had 14 grams per litre of residual sugar. It killed most of the numbness and added some flavour, even when up against sriracha-coated chicken wings.
But there was still a burn. The true champion was a sparkling apple cider (Sparkling cider rosé, Vergers Petit et Fils, Quebec cider, $14.95, SAQ # 12030178). With 63 grams per litre of residual sugar, it managed to turn the searing burn into a comforting warmth.
There is a limit, though. I opened a fortified sweet wine (Muscat de Rivesaltes 2013, Domaine Cazes, France fortified, $26.05, SAQ # 961805). While excellent with stronger cheeses, the 130 grams per litre of residual sugar was too much and overpowered the food.
The rule of thumb is to look for sweet white wines when eating spicy foods. And if you ever needed a reason to open a Quebec cider, this is the perfect opportunity.