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Courtesy of Vermilion

THE GLOBAL PLATE : INDIAN SUNRISE

By Rohini Dey

My love affair with Spanish wines started as I sat at a tapas bar in Granada amidst throngs of tourists, opposite the ancient magnificence of the Alhambra, gorging on tapas with a carafe of chilled Albariño. Yes, I know it was a peasant experience, but that’s what did it! My husband and I had spent three lazy summer weeks driving, eating and drinking our way from bustling Madrid to the idyllic whitewashed town of Arcos de la Frontera, the gorgeous, historic, dense Seville, the Gaucin on the southernmost tip of Spain, and finally to Granada. Blown away by the architectural splendor of this Moorish structure, little did I know ten years ago how influential this trip would prove to be.

This was long before I entered the world of restauranting, before developing the Vermilion Indian-Latin cuisine that draws on Indian and Spanish historical influences via the Moors and Persians, and also before I developed wine lists for both my restaurants (Vermilion NYC and Chicago) that are dominated by Latin wines. Both wine lists have white and red sections dedicated to Spanish wines.

I’ll never forget, when I approached an investor 6 years ago, the one word he said to me: “Rioja.” It was a little like the “plastics” Dustin Hoffman moment from The Graduate. And Riojas have stayed with me ever since!

I’m the kind of person who loves wines, but gets depressed if handed a tome on wines at a restaurant – this kills my spirit. Are there really “perfect” wine-food combinations? Are 400-1500 wine choices really necessary? So we’ve gone a little renegade in developing the wine list for Vermilion’s Indian-Latin cuisine, which can euphemistically be described as globally complex with layers of bold and assertive flavors.

I’ll throw some examples in to bring this cuisine to life as a backdrop to our wines: a Brazilian Caldeirada (seasonal seafood stew melded with an Indian kick and coconut milk) is delicious with Gramona Gessamí 2007 from Penedès. The Tandoori Skirt Steak (which blends an Argentinean cut with

a classic Indian marinade) is superb with celler Vall Llach 2000 from Priorat. I also love the crisp Artichoke Pakoras (one of our most popular tapas) with Izadi Blanco 2005 Doca Rioja.

There are some basics we do follow: we’re biased toward fresh wines with high acidity, ideally with lower alcohol, and less assertive tannins that we believe clash with spice wines that complement and do not over whelm our food. And we strongly eschew the stereotype of sweet wines with heat and spice. At the end of the day, however, our philosophy is very simple: crisp, clean flavors to complement our cuisine – unconventional and global.

Glass pours dominate our list, to encourage guests to experiment, defy convention and abandon pairing norms. And this is why Spanish wines fit in beautifully, offering a range of choices.

There’s much more to Spanish wines than Rioja, I’ve discovered, as regions like Priorat, Rueda, Galicia, and Penedès have entered my every-day vocabulary. I’ve had phases in my love of wines, swinging from bone dry reds to fresh crisp whites. Whites from Spain that have earned a permanent place in my heart include the irrepressibly vibrant Albariño, one of my favorite whites (it blends the minerality of a Riesling, the brightness of a Pinot Gris, the grassiness of a Sauvignon Blanc, and the aromatic complexity of a Viognier – yes, I’m biased!). Grassy, soulful, and humming with bright acidity – often flecked with green, the Albariño takes me to lush green Galician slopes in an instant. Or the lovely, young, floral and light Gramona Gessamí – reminiscent of fresh spring days with an aromatic burst of Jasmine. Or a Rioja Blanco, inevitably eclipsed by it’s red sibling, crisp but with undertones of complexity that hold up so well to the Latin American chimichurri or the infinite variations of Indian garam masala – blends of cumin, coriander, clove, cardamom, black pepper, nutmeg, star anise, each a household secret. Or the lemony rush of a Verdejo, young and

playful….the list goes on… I find that these crisp, refreshing Spanish whites are not only invigorating and soothing to the palate, but hold up phenomenally well against the heat and multilayered variety of our cuisine.

For reds, full-blown, earthy Tempranillos from Rioja have enough structure to accompany any of our Indian-Latin steaks. Made in better years and aged longer (I prefer them slightly chilled), a Reserva or Gran Reserva Rioja easily stands up to traditional Indian fare that has a bold medley of seasoning, whether chilies or fresh ground, roasted or sauteed spices. The Mangalorean lamb shank gassi or goat curry from Vermilion’s authentic Indian “Heat” section, meets its match with the Loriñón Reserva 2003 Doca Rioja.

Perfect complements to the earthy tones of our Tandoor fare (beef, chicken, shrimp and paneer kababs and Indian breads), or any grilled fare for that matter, are ripe, rustic Monastrells, expressive and big. Other amazing wines that go well with our Indian-Latin tapas, such as boar jibarito and duck arepa, are the Garnacha-based Priorats. The amazing part of it all is that I could replace any of these wines with others, depending on what I’m in the mood to drink. That has always been the driving factor of my wine selection, a choice quite independent of my food. The gospel of pairing wisdom is something that’s yet to percolate into my love affair with wines.

On a final note, ending any evening with a Sherry, white Moscatel or sparkling Catalonian cava is always celebratory and adult, even naughty….and how better to end a perfect evening in any love affair?

Rohini Dey, Ph.D is the owner of Vermilion (NYC & Chicago), contemporary Indian-Latin fusion restaurants which have been lauded by Gourmet, Bon Appetit, WSJ, USA Today, Travel & Leisure and Town & Country among others.

Vermilion is located at 480 Lexington Ave., NY 10017 in New York City, and at 10 West Hubbard St., Chicago, IL 60654.

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