Trying to find the right wine to go with international dishes can be a challenge because you need to pay particular attention to the spices and seasonings.

For example, Chinese food is not as easy on wine as you might expect because of its delicacy and sweetness. Most wines are too powerful, too dry, or too acidic to properly complement the food. The best choice is the Riesling grape. German wines such as the medium-dry Kabinett and Spatlese Halbtrocken, and dry, or almost dry, fruity Rieslings from Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. are excellent choices to enhance much of the food.

The exotic gewürztraminer is too powerful for most Chinese dishes, but is a good match for sticky spare ribs and for sweet, spicy Chinese sauces like hoison and sweet bean. It is more difficult to find a good red wine to complement this type of meal, although some lightly chilled pinot noirs do well.

The top choice for Thai food, with its piercing flavors of chile, lime leaves, lemon grass, coriander, and fish sauce, is the Sauvignon Blanc grape. Classic Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume, as well as most New World Sauvignons, Riesling and unoaked, lemony Semillon are also worth trying.

Red wine and chile make for an uneasy partnership at best, but good Beaujolais-Villages and inexpensive New World reds served lightly chilled can be adequate with most Thai dishes.

Japanese food looks light, healthy, and innocent enough, but don’t be fooled. The essential accompaniments—the pickles, the dipping sauces, and above all, the pungent wasabi—pack a powerful punch.

While no wine is built to withstand a mouthful of wasabi, there are some that cope better than others. German rieslings, both Kabinett and Halbtrocken styles, go well with sushi and sashimi, as do brut champagne and champagne-quality, dry, sparkling wines.

Sauvignon can also stand up for itself with Japanese dishes, as well as other dry whites such as Chablis, Pouilly-Fuisse, and Pinot Bianco.

Beef dishes such as teriyaki are best accompanied by low-tannin red wines, including Loires, Beaujolais and Pinot Noirs.

With Indian food, it’s not just the hot spices, but the sheer complexity of flavor in many dishes that makes it hard to find the right wine. Most people find that white wines are the most successful, and preferably unoaked whites, although an oak-matured New World chardonnay can go well with a creamy, coconutty dish.

In general, think in terms of varieties such as Semillon, Verdelho, Marsanne, Muscat and Riesling. Gewurztraminer can also be a useful standby with hard to match, highly spiced dishes

For those who are committed to drinking red, Bordeaux can work, as well as fortified wines in the Madeira style. Other reds that can successfully accompany an Indian feast are Beaujolais-Villages, Rioja Crianza, or a younger, modern Spanish red, or a mid-priced Australian Shiraz.