Ingrid Casson offers help with the challenge of picking the right wine to drink with Cape Malay dishes

Burrowing into Cape Malay history, you'll find little tradition in wine-drinking - those who were non-Muslims tended to stick to brandewyn and beer. So Cape Malay food didn't evolve around a particular wine style.

This cuisine can be tricky to pair with wine, given the complex combinations of Asian and Dutch influences - in any one dish you can take a taste tour through salty to sweet, spiced, fatty, smoky and curried. It's often best to follow the basic rule of thumb in food and wine pairing: rich, heavier foods need heavier wines; light foods need light wines. But if we want to get a bit more technical, here are some wine styles that would rest happily with a Cape Malay spread.

AROMATIC, OFF-DRY WHITES

Off-dry wines are becoming cool again . This is partly because these wines can be so food-friendly. They work really well with a Cape Malay curry because these dishes often either call for sweet ingredients or they're served on the side as sambals. Off-dry wines are also often fragrant and a bit spicy, so they're a good choice with a savoury dish laced with heady spices such as cinnamon or star anise. Stick to a white that's clean, fruity and low in acid, so its character doesn't fight with the strong flavours of the food.

Food: Bobotie cooked with brown sugar and raisins.

Try: Viognier, gewürztraminer, sylvaner.

Pick: Simonsig Gewürztraminer 2011, R65.

SPICY, LIGHT-BODIED REDS AND ROSÉS

Light, easy-drinking red wines are heroes with food as they're not too boisterous. Often they'll have a nice silky spice, berry juiciness and a decent wedge of acid to cut through fatty foods. They're also more subtle in body and tannin, giving the food a chance to breathe. A good idea is to chill the bottle to bring out the fruitiness. Likewise, ripe rosés with body and a smack of sweetness love this kind of food.

Food: Sosaties skewered with lamb fat and dried apricots.

Try: Ruby cabernet, grenache or Italian varieties such as barbera or sangiovese.

Pick: Kleine Zalze Cellar Selection Gamay Noir Rosé 2011, R47.

PINOTAGE

It's a South African classic, so shouldn't pinotage be a happy match with Cape cuisine? Well, it is. Its juiciness, lush tannins and spice make it a natural with the spicy-fruit flavours of Cape Malay food - especially as most pinotages have a kiss of sweetness, even if, technically, they are dry. Pinotage is a versatile table wine as there are quite a few styles about. Lighter styles (cherry, herbs, pepper) pair well with light meat dishes, whereas the medium-bodied style (coffee, chocolate and banana) can carry off something a bit more robust.

Food: Cape Malay lamb curry.

Try: A light- or medium-bodied pinotage.

Pick: Durbanville Hills Pinotage 2009, R78.