Last weekend brought Diwali ( दीपावली ) - an Indian celebration that, in a ridiculously simple explanation, is a celebration of the victory of good over evil; the uplifting of spiritual darkness.  Also known as a Festival Of Lights, it is a very jubilant five days where places are decorated with candles and lights, plus there is an abundance of feasting, particularly of sweets.

Any excuse to celebrate or feast and we’re there!

So, off 7 of us went to Chutney Villa, a fantastic South Indian restaurant that is wonderfully close to our home, around the Main & Broadway area of Vancouver.  Along with their amazing chutneys (mint, coconut, banana-pear and apple, top left), we had some fantastic Lamb Biryani that came with some beautiful Pomegranate Raita to tame the heat a little bit (top right).  I also made sure we got some Chicken Murtabak (bottom left), which is one of my favourite things in the world.  Of course, sweets (bottom right) were had as well.

“Wine Blog”

Oh, right.

So the point of all this, besides saying how great it all was and recommend the deliciousness of Chutney Villa to you, is to commend them on a fantastic, appropriate, tidy little wine list.

Too often when you are at ethnic (here I’m referring to Eastern, Middle Eastern, Asian-ish) restaurants, particularly ones where prices are low, yet the food is fantastic, the trade off seems to be a lack of wine program or if it is existent - a lack of a quality wine program.

Not at Chutney Villa.  Though I recall there only being 7 or 8 wines on the list, they were all affordable, well-chosen and quite suited to the cuisine.  The reds were bright, soft and juicy and perfect to accommodate the spicy food without overwhelming it.  The whites were all on the aromatic side, nothing too heavy or oaky, and there were a couple offerings that carried a splash of residual sugar.

We went through a couple bottles of the Sumac Ridge 2007 Private Reserve Gewürztraminer, which is a mere $13 at the BCLDB.  The rosewater and lychee elements mirrored the exotic aromatics of the food, the fresh, juicy, citrusy style was a nice contrast to its heat, and the slight spicy and peppery aspect of the (dry) finish simply knocked it outta the park!  It was well suited to the variety of dishes we had, which was no small task.

All in all, it rounded out and enhanced our enjoyment of the food.

It wasn’t rocket science, nor was it re-inventing the wheel, but having appropriate, delicious wine in small, inexpensive ethnic places is a rare enough occurrence that I totally had to share.

Next on the hunt, cheap sushi with decent juice to wash it down.

Recommendations?

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