Chickpea, flavouring profile

Chickpea, flavouring profile

Chickpeas are nutty, earthy and filling, and they are nearly always cooked with spice, garlic, lemon or tomato, so the wine has to handle the company as much as the pulse itself.

The compounds that matter. A nutty, faintly beany earthiness, which suits wines with their own nutty or savoury character. Starch, which dulls sharpness and makes a thin wine seem thinner. The usual companions: cumin and coriander, tahini, garlic, lemon and tomato, which between them ask for acidity and a little aromatic warmth.

What it demands of a wine. Medium body, fresh acidity and a savoury, nutty or gently spiced register. Tannin is fine only where it is light. A wine with a little grip from skin contact bridges spice and earthiness better than a plain white.

Seek. An orange wine, preferably a lightly macerated Georgian qvevri white from Imereti, for example a Lagvinari Tsolikouri or an Iago's Wine Chinuri, whose faint grip and dried herb notes suit spiced chickpeas and mezze. Tavel, the fullest darker rosé of the southern Rhône, for chickpea stews with chorizo or lamb. Grenache Blanc from the southern Rhône, round and nutty, for hummus and chickpeas with tahini. Malagousia from northern Greece where lemon and herbs lead.

Avoid

Tannic, heavily oaked reds, which the earthy starch and spice turn dry and bitter. Very light, neutral whites, which disappear beside cumin and garlic.

Three to reach for. Skin contact Tsolikouri, orange style, Imereti, Georgia. Darker Tavel rosé, southern Rhône, France. Grenache Blanc, southern Rhône, France.