Off-dry Riesling (a Riesling with a touch of sweetness), Gewürztraminer and lightly sweet sparkling wine are the classic wines for Thai food. A little sugar and a cold glass calm chili heat. For rich massaman curry, a fruity red such as Carignan also works.
Thai cooking layers sweet palm sugar, sour lime and tamarind, salty fish sauce and hot chilies in the same dish. Wine writer Anne Krebiehl MW points to the palm sugar in Thai food and suggests a light-bodied, off-dry Riesling to echo that sweetness, one labeled feinherb (off-dry) at 11 to 13% alcohol.
Thai dishes vary a lot in sweetness and heat, so the table below matches a wine to each.
What in Thai food matters for wine
Fresh chilies
Tannin and high alcohol turn up the burn. A cold, lightly sweet wine calms it.
Palm sugar
A sweet sauce calls for an off-dry wine, such as a light Riesling with a touch of sugar.
Lime
A low-acid wine goes flat next to lime. Riesling and Grüner Veltliner have the acid to match.
Coconut milk
Green and red curries are rich with coconut. An aromatic white such as Gewürztraminer suits them.
Thai food and wine by dish
Scroll the table sideways to see every column
| Thai dish | Wine | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Pad thai | Off-dry Riesling or lightly sweet sparkling wine | Wine Folly picks an off-dry German Riesling (labeled Halbtrocken or Feinherb) for the sweet-sour tamarind sauce. |
| Green or red curry | Gewürztraminer | Wine Folly's rule for fragrant curries is Gewürztraminer, an aromatic white that matches the curry paste. |
| Massaman curry | Carignan | Cardamom and cinnamon make this a richer curry, and Wine Folly matches it with Carignan from Languedoc-Roussillon. |
| Tom yum soup | Grenache Blanc | Wine Folly pairs this hot and sour lemongrass soup with Grenache Blanc. |
| Som tam (green papaya salad) | Riesling or Grüner Veltliner | Lime and chili call for a high-acid white; Wine Folly names Riesling first and Grüner Veltliner next. |
| Pad see ew | Pinot Noir | The wide noodles in dark soy sauce carry little chili, so a light red fits; Wine Folly suggests Pinot Noir. |
| Thai spring rolls | Sparkling rosé | Bubbles and acidity cut the fried wrapper, a match Wine Folly recommends. |
| Mango sticky rice | Late harvest Riesling | A dessert wine should be at least as sweet as the dish; Wine Folly suggests late harvest Riesling. |
Why these wines work with Thai food
Chili heat comes from capsaicin, which triggers the receptor in your mouth that senses heat. A 2002 study in Nature Neuroscience found that ethanol makes this receptor respond more strongly to capsaicin, so a strong wine makes a curry taste hotter. Master Sommelier Matthieu Longuère writes that sugar coats the tongue and tones the heat down, and that tannin makes it feel stronger.
Cold helps as well. In a 1990 UC Davis study, cold rinses cut chili burn more than rinses at room temperature, and a sugar solution worked as well as cold whole milk. A rinse with 5% alcohol did no better than water.
Sweetness in the wine also has to keep pace with the sugar in the food. Krebiehl notes that off-dry wine works when the dish itself has some sweetness, as palm sugar usually gives Thai dishes. Acidity then keeps the wine fresh next to lime and tamarind.
Wines to avoid with Thai food
Avoid high-alcohol wines and reds with firm tannin with any dish that carries fresh chilies, since both make the burn stronger. Longuère also notes that spice can drown out the subtlety of a complex wine.
A bone-dry, lean white can taste sour and thin next to a sweet pad thai sauce. Save it for the salty, less sweet dishes.
Natural wines to try with Thai food
- Domaine Achard-Vincent Clairette de Die Tradition NV: Mostly Muscat from the Rhône Valley, this sparkling wine stops fermenting at 7.5% alcohol and stays lightly sweet, which calms the heat of pad thai and som tam.
- Domaine Einhart Orange Gewurztraminer 2024/2025: This Alsace blend of Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris spends 24 hours on its skins and brings lychee and ginger notes to green or red curry.
- Domaine Mada Tout Sauf L'Ennui 2024: A 100% Carignan from the Languedoc with cherry and raspberry fruit, the grape Wine Folly recommends for massaman curry.
- Domaine de la Patience Rosé 2025: A dry Grenache and Cinsault rosé at 12% alcohol; Decanter's Fiona Beckett finds fuller rosés stand up well to spice, which suits a table of mixed Thai dishes.
How to serve wine with Thai food
- Serve sparkling wine and light whites ice cold, 38 to 45°F (3 to 7°C).
- Serve rosé and the orange Gewurztraminer fridge cold, 44 to 55°F (7 to 12°C).
- Chill Carignan and Pinot Noir to 55 to 60°F (12 to 15°C). Go to the colder end when the curry is hot.
- Open sparkling wine cold and slowly, since a warm bottle foams over. An all-purpose wine glass works for every bottle here.
Common questions about wine with Thai food
- What wine pairs well with Thai food?
- Off-dry Riesling, Gewürztraminer and lightly sweet sparkling wine are the classic matches for Thai food. A little sugar and a cold glass calm chili heat.
- What wine goes with pad thai?
- An off-dry German Riesling, labeled Halbtrocken or Feinherb, is Wine Folly's pick for pad thai. A lightly sweet sparkling wine works the same way.
- What wine goes with green curry?
- Gewürztraminer, an aromatic white, is the classic match for green and red curry. Serve it cold to take the edge off the chili.
- Can you drink red wine with Thai food?
- Red wine works with milder or richer Thai dishes, such as Carignan with massaman curry or Pinot Noir with pad see ew. Keep it low in tannin and serve it cool.
- Why does wine make spicy Thai food hotter?
- Alcohol makes the tongue's heat receptor respond more strongly to capsaicin, the compound in chilies. Tannin adds to the burn as well.
- What wine goes with massaman curry?
- A fruity red such as Carignan from the Languedoc suits massaman curry. Its cardamom and cinnamon make it richer than green or red curry.
Sources
- Wine Folly: Our Advice on Pairing Wine With Thai Food (Vincent Rendoni)
- Decanter: What are the best wines for spicy food? (Julie Sheppard, with Anne Krebiehl MW)
- Decanter: Matching wine with curry (Matthieu Longuère MS)
- Trevisani et al. 2002, Nature Neuroscience: ethanol potentiates the capsaicin receptor
- Nasrawi and Pangborn 1990, Physiology & Behavior: mouth-rinsing and capsaicin burn
- Wine Folly: wine serving temperature
- Icon drawn from a photo by Guilhem Vellut (CC BY 2.0), Wikimedia Commons
- Icon drawn from a photo by Badagnani (CC BY 3.0), Wikimedia Commons
- Icon drawn from a photo by Ivar Leidus (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons
