Match #3: A Soft and Fruity Red

A midweight red, light on tongue-gripping tannins, stands up to the recipe's spice and acidity.

ZEROING IN: Try a Chilean merlot. These easy-drinking wines are full of ripe red fruit flavors—the key to pairing reds with intensely flavored recipes. Curry often packs both acid and heat (here, from red pepper and tomatoes), delivering a knockout blow to less fruity wines with heavier oak and tannins. 

Casa Lapostolle Merlot (pictured) Chile, 2011 ($12)

Concha y Toro Casillero del Diablo Merlot, Chile, 2011 ($11)