For The Love Of Port

We had a potluck for lunch here at work today, and due to popular demand I made a pot of my chili again, and now I'm thirsty. My chili has a lot of peppers in it, but the end result is something no spicier than, say, Pace medium picante sauce. It is obviously spicy, but not at all what I'd call hot. Anyway.

This has me wondering... what's the best kind of Port to drink with spicy food? Is there one?

To me they don't mix. To the point that if I've had something spicy for dinner I'll skip my evening glass.

Anyone have a pairing that seems to work well?

Spicy stuff is perhaps one of the few foods I don't enjoy with Port. Give me a nice beer or top shelf cadillac margarita for spicy foods.

Try it with a Reserve Ruby or a young LBV.. It can work.

We eat a lot of Korean food and a wide range of other spicy food. The best wine for that kind of food is German reisling, especially from the Mosel, IMHO. JJ Prum spatlese or auslese is my first choice.

If I were drinking port with spicy food, I would try tawny. Verdelho or bual madeira would be better.

Perhaps a young VP full of tanins would crush the spicy flavour

I go with German Rieslings, almost always with really spicy food when doing Asian food. If it is hot like BBQ Pork, then occasionally, I'll do Australian Shiraz, but that is a rarity. Typically, I'd do beer like Andy suggested.

Roy, I agree with you on pairing German riesling with Asian food. Though if it is very spicy, I prefer a young kabinett or spatlese, as opposed to a well aged riesling, which will generally be more subtle and complex, and potentially be overpowered by the heat. And a young auslese is typically too rich for me. I just had a 1979 auslese last night with a mild fish! :)