The sommelier’s conundrum: Pairing drinks with food that is zany and unprecedented will always be subjective exercise with as many opinions as there are diners in room

Many sommeliers shy away from the idea of pairing wines with foods that sound extreme—strongly spiced, rich on umami, textural variations—anything that will make a dish too multifaceted to be comfortably paired with a beverage. Indian cuisines are one such…