David Madson was in the kitchen this week assisted by Peter Fitzpatrick and James Tinslay on canapés.

Canapés. Speaking of canapés, we started with three today. In no particular order, the first was a mixture of butter, pumpkin and herbs topped with pancetta on a dried bread base. Creamy and tasty. The next was another spreadable style on a dried bread base and crackers (for some variation) of cream cheese, mayonnaise, prawns and various herbs and the like, such as dill. Slightly runny and again a very rich flavour that worked well with the aperitif wine. Finally, a simple canapé of pan-fried halloumi topped with chorizo, the latter lacking a little heat to make it more interesting.

Aperitif wine. Besides the usual suspects of our much-loved Sherry, the aperitif wine was a Girardin Chardonnay, an entry-level white Burgundy from 2012. It had all the attributes of an excellent aperitif wine with no wood evident, crisp acid with a fruit driven finish. Comments on this were very positive.

Main Course. Serving curry at the Society is generally fraught with dangers of the heat/spice and wine matching. Today was no different. The butter chicken recipe David used today was classic with a wide range and variety of spices. Contrary to some comments, there was no chilli used in the recipe. However, there was chilli as an accompaniment on the side that some may have mistaken as part of the rich and buttery sauce accompanying the chicken. The chicken were whole thighs with bone in and skin on which had been browned before being cooked in the curry sauce. A very comforting meal served with salsa, cucumber and chopped green chilli, the latter being not so benign if you managed to get it mixed with the sauce. Chilli lovers would not have even noticed the green chilli but for some of us with a low heat threshold, we did. An excellent main.

The Wines.

• Marina Coppi Barbera (cork, 14.5%)
• Medhurst Pinot Noir 2010 (screw cap, 12.8%)
• Dom. Roux Rully Clos des Mollepierres Chardonnay 2013 (cork, 13%)
• Vasse Felix Filius Cab Merlot 2013 (screw cap, 14.5%)

This is not the first time in recent lunches where the issue of wine matching with food-based spice or heat has come to the fore. Not a bad thing. It becomes obvious however that assuming a curry is generic leads to problems. Suffice to say conversation was lively around the matching of the with the complication of chilli being dragged, literally, into the curry.

The Barbera had the softness and body to be the best match with the butter chicken. Mind you, the Midhurst Pinot Noir at 8 years of age was also in good condition and whilst not tasting particularly like Pinot, many thought this was the match to beat. Personally, I preferred the Barbera.

With the excellent cheese there was one clear winner and that was the Rully white Burgundy. At 5 years of age it had a mature richness and fine acid cleanliness that arguably made it the wine of the day. Sadly, the Vasse Felix entry-level Cabernet Merlot failed to set any pulses racing. It was just a little boring and bland.

Cheese and coffee. The cheese selected by James Healey today was a d’Affinois from Guilloteau from the Rhone-Alpes. It was as expected, in great condition. Silky in the mouth followed by a creamy finish. The cheese was served with mixed nuts and dried fruit.

Spencer Ferrier provided us with a Colombian coffee today with the moniker, Inza. It had a sharp finish with a good breath of flavour across the palate.

During the last week the Society lost one of its members, Ross Porter, and he was farewelled with the traditional toast of green chartreuse.