Harissa — flavouring profile

Harissa is a fiery North African chilli paste — roasted red chillies pounded with caraway, coriander, cumin, garlic and olive oil — so for all its smoky, earthy depth the first thing it does to a wine is turn up the heat, and that decides almost everything.

The compounds that matter. The heat is capsaicin from the chillies, the dominant force: it fires the mouth's heat receptors, and alcohol amplifies the burn while a little sweetness calms it and carbonation scatters it. Beneath the heat sit the earthy aromatics of cumin and caraway and the pungency of garlic, with a smoky depth where the chillies are roasted or smoked, all bound in olive oil. So the pairing has two jobs: tame a real heat, and meet a smoky, earthy, savoury paste that usually dresses grilled meat, fish, couscous or eggs.

What it demands of a wine. Low alcohol first — high alcohol pours petrol on the chilli. Then high acid for freshness against the oil, and usually a touch of sweetness or the spritz of bubbles to soften the burn. Tannin should be low: firm tannin turns harsh as the heat sharpens it, so structured reds are out. A fruity, smoky or warm character flatters the paste, and the wine is best served cool. Oak adds nothing here.

Seek. A full-bodied darker rosé, served cool, is the natural match for harissa-rubbed grilled meat and merguez — fruity and warm, with no tannin to sharpen. An off-dry, high-acid aromatic white tames the heat over couscous, fish and shakshuka, its sweetness and acid working together. A fresh, juicy, low-tannin red served cool suits grilled lamb where the heat is moderate, and a lightly sweet sparkling scatters fiercer heat altogether.

Avoid. High-alcohol wines of any colour, which inflame the chilli. Firm, tannic reds, which the heat turns hard and bitter. Heavily oaked, full-bodied wines, whose weight and vanilla fight the fresh, fiery paste.

Three to reach for. Tavel rosé (southern Rhône); off-dry Riesling (Mosel Kabinett); Cru Beaujolais (Gamay), served cool.