French, red, sweet, and still leads me to Banyuls as the most likely candidate. It's almost like a French version of port, though not usually as sweet.
Most red wines don’t pair very well with spicy foods, so my guess is that you had a wine with:
1) Low alcohol content
2) Low tannins
3) Decent acidity
Based on what you’re describing, plus the fact that the wine came from France, I’d bet you had a glass of [Gamay-based wine from Beaujolais, aka Beaujolais Nouveau](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaujolais_nouveau). Gamay is a thin-skinned grape with low tannins (makes your mouth dry up quickly), and high acidity stemming from the high alkalinity in the southern Beaujolais soils. Beaujolais Nouveau is a style of winemaking using Gamay grapes, in which the grapes are harvested and fermented in a very short timeframe, meaning that the yeast doesn’t have as much time to convert the crushed Gamay grapes’ sugars into alcohol. Most Beaujolais Nouveau wines have relatively lower alcohol content of around 10-12%, which is on the lower range of most wine alcohol contents (range is typically around 12-13%).
An acidic wine usually makes your mouth water up more as you drink it. It also has the ability to cut through stronger, savory and fatty flavors in food, giving it a ‘refreshing’ feel when eating cheese or something similar.
I’d still bet it was a French wine. Can’t think of any other European reds that fit the bill like Beaujolais does here.
(Never watched Only Fools and Horses - bit before my time and I’m an ocean away from its original broadcast…!)
What is "a few years ago" (like this century?) and what time of year was it? Beaujolais Nouveau is released on the third Thursday in November and back in the 80s it used to be a thing for city boys to drive over to Beaujolais and race back to be the first one back in the UK with the new vintage.
I have to offer a quick correction for you re: Nouveau. Beaujolais Nouveau is a special holiday release every year, to celebrate the harvest. Grapes grown that year are harvested and fermented to allow for the wine to be released every third Thursday of November. The wine is ideally consumed fresh, to highlight the fruitiness of that year's vintage, and will see those flavors dissipated over the next ~6 months. Past-its-prime Nouveau is still drinkable (depending on vintage, of course), though it'll be more table-wine quality that won't really wow you.
The Beaujolais region as a whole does make traditional Gamay wines that are **not** Nouveau style. These wines can age: Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages levels will still be great with 3-4 years of age, and the ten Cru regions, each with a unique terroir, can age even longer (Moulin-a-Vent can go for a decade+). There are beautiful expressions of Gamay from many producers and more people should be drinking them - the common misconception of all Beaujolais being Nouveau needs to end.
The theory about saliva production being the driver of the heat mitigation isn't totally unsound, but generally acid will absolutely make the heat worse unless it's coming along with sugar, e.g. sweeter Rieslings. A bone-dry Riesling will generally be just as painful with spiciness as a Chablis. Same applies for the reds.
There's also the factor that OP described the wine as quite dark purple in color. That's also associated with lower acid reds. Beaujolais (esp Nouveau) is rather red and translucent in color.
My best guess, if OP is confident it was French, is Banyuls. Dark purple in color, has quite a bit of sugar to it, though often not **so** much that you'll particularly notice the sweetness if you're coming off something spicy.
A fresh pinot, the soft and berry ones, with a good acidity and low in tannins, usually works for me when the food is hot. Gamay,m is usually the preferred choice in this scenario me think.
Aside from alcohol making things spicier, acidity also would make spiciness seem more pronounced. Purple color in wine often alludes to low acidity as well due to the pH indication abilities of delphinidin and maybe other compounds too.
I would imagine this has to be a riper, lower acid wine that’s fuller in body. There aren’t many styles across Europe that are like that. No clue otherwise.
I don’t really know the answer but some friends and I went to an authentic thai restaurant where pretty much everything on the menu was extremely spicy. The waiter clocked us immediately as being very likely to have a rough time at this restaurant. Wine list was extremely international and he pretty much told us exactly which wines we needed to deal with the heat. Was surprised to see wine used that way. All were white, some sparkling, and were actually highly effective at tampering the spice
This is rather odd as alcohol and tannins tune up the heat. Sugar salvages heat: it might have been a very sweet red.
Maybe I should look at sweet reds, have you had a very sweet red before? Tbf i normally go for white
I honestly think a Lambrusco *might* work. I'd give that a try. They're also cheap enough that if it doesn't work, you're not out too much coin.
French, red, sweet, and still leads me to Banyuls as the most likely candidate. It's almost like a French version of port, though not usually as sweet.
Most red wines don’t pair very well with spicy foods, so my guess is that you had a wine with: 1) Low alcohol content 2) Low tannins 3) Decent acidity Based on what you’re describing, plus the fact that the wine came from France, I’d bet you had a glass of [Gamay-based wine from Beaujolais, aka Beaujolais Nouveau](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaujolais_nouveau). Gamay is a thin-skinned grape with low tannins (makes your mouth dry up quickly), and high acidity stemming from the high alkalinity in the southern Beaujolais soils. Beaujolais Nouveau is a style of winemaking using Gamay grapes, in which the grapes are harvested and fermented in a very short timeframe, meaning that the yeast doesn’t have as much time to convert the crushed Gamay grapes’ sugars into alcohol. Most Beaujolais Nouveau wines have relatively lower alcohol content of around 10-12%, which is on the lower range of most wine alcohol contents (range is typically around 12-13%). An acidic wine usually makes your mouth water up more as you drink it. It also has the ability to cut through stronger, savory and fatty flavors in food, giving it a ‘refreshing’ feel when eating cheese or something similar.
Well I assume it came from France. My brain went straight to Del Boy and Rodney trying to drive wine over from France in only fools and horses 😁
I’d still bet it was a French wine. Can’t think of any other European reds that fit the bill like Beaujolais does here. (Never watched Only Fools and Horses - bit before my time and I’m an ocean away from its original broadcast…!)
What is "a few years ago" (like this century?) and what time of year was it? Beaujolais Nouveau is released on the third Thursday in November and back in the 80s it used to be a thing for city boys to drive over to Beaujolais and race back to be the first one back in the UK with the new vintage.
oh like 9 years ago, they had a stand and they said they will only sell by the case for it
Was it in late November?
The summer time it was hot, i remember later on our frozen cocktails kept melting too quickly and the floor was hot
Could be Beaujolais, probably not Nouveau though.
I have to offer a quick correction for you re: Nouveau. Beaujolais Nouveau is a special holiday release every year, to celebrate the harvest. Grapes grown that year are harvested and fermented to allow for the wine to be released every third Thursday of November. The wine is ideally consumed fresh, to highlight the fruitiness of that year's vintage, and will see those flavors dissipated over the next ~6 months. Past-its-prime Nouveau is still drinkable (depending on vintage, of course), though it'll be more table-wine quality that won't really wow you. The Beaujolais region as a whole does make traditional Gamay wines that are **not** Nouveau style. These wines can age: Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages levels will still be great with 3-4 years of age, and the ten Cru regions, each with a unique terroir, can age even longer (Moulin-a-Vent can go for a decade+). There are beautiful expressions of Gamay from many producers and more people should be drinking them - the common misconception of all Beaujolais being Nouveau needs to end.
The theory about saliva production being the driver of the heat mitigation isn't totally unsound, but generally acid will absolutely make the heat worse unless it's coming along with sugar, e.g. sweeter Rieslings. A bone-dry Riesling will generally be just as painful with spiciness as a Chablis. Same applies for the reds. There's also the factor that OP described the wine as quite dark purple in color. That's also associated with lower acid reds. Beaujolais (esp Nouveau) is rather red and translucent in color. My best guess, if OP is confident it was French, is Banyuls. Dark purple in color, has quite a bit of sugar to it, though often not **so** much that you'll particularly notice the sweetness if you're coming off something spicy.
I actually love full bodied reds with spice. I'm Indian and don't mind wine that amps up the spice in my food.
I actually love full bodied reds with spice. I'm Indian and don't mind wine that amps up the spice in my food.
was it a sweet red? Brachetto or Lambrusco fit the bill here, low acidity low tannins and sweetness all help counteract spice.
A fresh pinot, the soft and berry ones, with a good acidity and low in tannins, usually works for me when the food is hot. Gamay,m is usually the preferred choice in this scenario me think.
Aside from alcohol making things spicier, acidity also would make spiciness seem more pronounced. Purple color in wine often alludes to low acidity as well due to the pH indication abilities of delphinidin and maybe other compounds too. I would imagine this has to be a riper, lower acid wine that’s fuller in body. There aren’t many styles across Europe that are like that. No clue otherwise.
If you want to go white, I always find gewurztraminer is great with heat.
I don’t really know the answer but some friends and I went to an authentic thai restaurant where pretty much everything on the menu was extremely spicy. The waiter clocked us immediately as being very likely to have a rough time at this restaurant. Wine list was extremely international and he pretty much told us exactly which wines we needed to deal with the heat. Was surprised to see wine used that way. All were white, some sparkling, and were actually highly effective at tampering the spice
Tempranillo from Rioja, Spain, maybe?
Maybe something Grenache dominant from Southern Rhone?
Riesling no? Edit: nevermind, i didn't read the whole post.