Seafood Pairing House Rules
Red Wines We Recommend Pairing With Steak
Cabernet Sauvignon – Juggernaut Hillside Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
The wine tastes are rich and intense with a complex character and smooth finish. Luxurious texture with black currants and vanilla. One of the best value wines we have – the boldness of the wine is the perfect pairing for a great steak.
Juggernaut Hillside Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 – $18.95
Zinfandel – 1000 Stories Bourbon Barrel-Aged Zinfandel 2016
Bursting with aromatic red fruit scents and complex black fruit flavors. A touch of Petite Sirah and Syrah enhance those flavors even more with bold black and white pepper spices.
Crab & Lobster Wine Pairing
With its delicate flavours and soft white meat, lobster and crab need a light, fresh wine companion. Think about how good fresh lobster tastes with just a squeeze of lemon over the top? You want a light, crisp wine with a touch of acidity to act as the lemon wedge to your lobster or crab dish.
How are you cooking your lobster? As with all delicate seafood dishes, finding the right wine depends on the overall flavours of the meal.
Cooking buttered lobster in the shell, smothered in garlic butter, with a buttered bruschetta? A big buttery Chardonnay like this varietal from Te Pa Chardonnay will add texture as well as richness to your meal.
Lobster in a light sauce, or straight from the shell with seasoning that heroes the flavours of the seafood deserves a light, slightly crisp wine to add balance and a touch of acidity. Sauvignon Blanc is a good choice: try these delicious varieties from Squawking Magpie Reserve or Two Rivers Convergence.
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Best Wine To Pair With Salmon
Salmon is arguably one of the most popular kinds of fish, especially served at a dinner party. How you serve it will depend on the type of wine you serve with your salmon. Its worth noting as well that salmon is one of the fish that boldly defy what is expected of other fish and pairs very well with a light-bodied red wine.
A pan or oven-cooked salmon pairs excellently with a chilled Pinot Noir. Alternatively, the perfect dry white wine for salmon is a Chardonnay. Smoked Salmon, however, thanks to its bold flavors goes better with a bottle of sparkling wine , or a bottle of sweet wine, like a Riesling.
Best White Wine To Pair With Fish
The best one-size-fits-all white wine to pair with fish is Chardonnay. However, more delicate wine and white fish pairings such as cod, haddock, and halibut will pair much better with a lighter wine. Chardonnay is a full-bodied white, and while the buttery notes of this wine will complement the butteriness of the fish, a better pairing for delicate fish is something light and crisp, like a Pinot Grigio or a Sauvignon Blanc.
However, if you head into the territory of meatier fish like salmon and tuna, fish that has both more of a texture to it and more of a flavor, you can experiment a little more. These types of fish you can play around with a little more- moving away from the light-bodied white wines and adventuring into light-bodied red wines like a Pinot Noir and full-bodied whites like Chardonnay.
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Pairing Wine With Fish: What To Choose
Whether eating out or cooking at home, pescatarians are regularly spoiled for choice. Not only is there a wide diversity of species, but fish is a versatile ingredient that can be cooked in different ways and even enjoyed raw.
This means that youll find an array of grapes and wine styles that will pair with fish. Tradition dictates that you should always match white wine with fish, but in some cases red wine can make an ideal pairing as can rosé. It all depends on the type of fish youre eating and how its prepared.
Both texture and flavour are key here. Fish can broadly be divided into four groups:
- Lean and flaky mild fish plaice, sole, perch
- Medium-textured fish trout, seabass, haddock, cod
- Meaty fish salmon, tuna, monkfish, swordfish
- Strong-flavoured fish herring, mackerel, sardines, anchovies
Within these groups there are some general guidelines. Delicate white fish fillets need a lighter white wine think Pinot Grigio/Pinot Gris, Albariñoor Grüner Veltiner. Meanwhile meatier fish like tuna can stand up to more robust flavours such as oaked Chardonnay, Viognieror rosé.
But how a fish is cooked grilling, baking, frying or on the barbecue will help to narrow down your wine choice. So too will the other ingredients in the dish. For example, fish served with a creamy sauce will need a wine with high acidity to cleanse the palate between bites. Spicy fish dishes call for a wine with some sweetness to balance the heat of the spices.
The Cheat Sheet To Pairing Wines With Seafood
White wine isnt the only pairing for fish. Whether its white, red, orange or sparkling, check out our cheat sheet to pairing wines with seafood.
There’s a certain stigma associated with seafood, in that you can only ever pair it with a light white wine. While most pairings do tend to be white wines, they are by no means the only option.
Allow the following guide to act as an inspiration for your next seafood pairingwe’ll start with the lighter whites, before entering the sparkling realm and finish off with the types of fish that are just begging for a glass of red to sit beside them.
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French Sauvignon Blanc With White Fish
Well start with the basics for both wine and fish. When people think about wine pairing with fish, a dry white wine like French Sauvignon Blanc and mild-tasting white fish are the first things that come to mind.
Due to its fresh taste, Sauvignon Blanc is best served chilled and paired with mild fish like halibut or flounder. When it comes to the preparation of the fish, you shouldnt use any complicated techniques simple baking or broiling is enough. You should add herbs such as basil or tarragon for the best results and remarkable pairing white wine with fish. It will bring out the earthy tones of the wine.
Smoked Food And Wine Pairing Guide
Just as we said, this is an idiots guide so we kept it simple and easy to understand and implement. Check out the guide below.
Riesling: These light wines are best paired with smoked pork, chicken, or fish.
Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc: These light flavored wines have a sour fruity taste which pairs best with smoked fish or poultry.
Malbec: This dark fruity flavored wine is perfect for making sangria drink. It tastes best with red meat.
Port & Pinot Noir: These dark red wines have a delicate fresh flavor that pairs well with smoked fish, lamb, chicken, and red meat.
Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris & Moscato: These medium-bodied sweet flavored wines taste great with poultry meats and seafood.
Blush Wines: These wines can be served in a variety of blends and go well with almost all lean meats.
Shiraz & Syrah: The bold flavor and strong aroma of these wines pair great with smoked beef and large steaks.
Merlot & Cabernet: These full-bodied wines have dark red hues and strong dry flavors. They complement smoked beef and pork.
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Meaty Fish House Rules
Whole Grilled Black Bass With Salsa Duo
“Anything cooked on the bone is just that much more flavorful and juicy, says Altamarea Group chef and partner Michael White of his preparation for black bass, stuffed with herbs and lemon slices before being placed in a grill basket to cook. The chef, who has helped spread the gospel of serious Italian cuisine in the United States and globally, serves the mild, firm fish with a choice of two sauces, both piquant with capers. The salsa Palermintana brings together tomatoes, olives, onion, basil and red-wine vinegar, while the salsa verde, given depth with anchovies and mustard, stars parsley. People think parsleys a garnishlike, they put a few pieces on somethingbut its really got flavor, says White.
A white wine might seem a natural fit with all the herbal, citrus and briny notes in this dish. But Altamarea beverage director Hristo Zisovskiwho oversees the groups stellar wine programs, including Wine Spectator Grand Awardwinning Ai Fiori in New York Cityturns to an Italian red from Sicilys Etna region. An alternative to Pinot Noir, Nerello Mascalese offers smoky, minerally and spicy notes but is high-toned and refreshing enough for a fish dish. This pairing is just one of four courses from Whitealong with seafood salad, ricotta pansotti and strawberry crostataso if youre feeling ambitious for the long Labor Day weekend, make the whole summer menu.
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Best Wine To Pair With Scallops
Again, this depends a little on the way in which you have cooked the scallops. Raw scallops or those that have been cooked in a ceviche style will pair best with a bottle of sweet wine like a Riesling, or if you like your fish quite spicy you can try with a Moscato.
However, pairing wine with Seared Scallops will go best with a full-bodied white such as a Chardonnay or a Chenin Blanc, as this will compliment both the texture and the bold flavor of the scallops, without being overpowered (you run a serious risk of this if you choose a bottle of light or medium-bodied wine.
Pinot Noir Gamay Sangiovese Grenache
Basically, this is the light red-wine category. There are precious few instances where you’d want a big red with seafood, but light reds do quite well with salmon, tuna, marlin, swordfish, mackerel, bluefish, or other fatty, meaty, big-flavored fish. Chianti, which is mostly Sangiovese, with spaghetti and clam sauce or is wonderful. Be careful, though: avoid combining reds with spicy seafood, as you will probably get a nasty metallic taste.
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What Is The Best Temperature To Store Red And White Wine
If you have only one wine fridge to store your wine in, what temperature setting is best? White wine tends to like being kept between 45 F to 50 F, while red enjoys 50 F to 65 F. So, select an average temperature of 55 F. Wine bottles are best stored lying on their sides to help keep their cork moist.
How Do Sauces Affect The Wine Pairing
White fish in a butter sauce would go well with a full-bodied Chardonnay. And if the fish has a soy-based sauce, this would be a time to open the Grenache.
A mushroom sauce, on the other hand, makes me think of Pinot Noir. Salmon also works well with Pinot Noir. Ahi tuna is so weighty it can even pair with a bigger red like Tempranillo.
Paso Wine Pairing Thomas Hill Organics Thai Salmon with TH Estate, Skins
Sauce significantly influences the outcome for a pairing. For instance, a grilled Sea Bass with a spicy, tomato sauce will hold up nicely to a red like Syrah.
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Fish With White Wine Sauce
Heres a simple yet luxurious and elegant White Wine Sauce for fish. Ive served it with snapper but it will go with just about any fish that can be pan-fried. But think beyond the fin! This creamy sauce also pairs beautifully with chicken, pork and crustaceans , cooked almost any which way.
What Wines Go Well With Fish
To understand wine pairing you need to understand the structure of wine. Every wine has different characteristics such as alcohol level, sweetness, tannin, and acidity. To think of wine characteristics as flavor ingredients it becomes easier to pair them with food.
We asked Thomas Hill Organics Chef Kurt to guest blog and share his wine pairing expertise with us.
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Fish With Strong Flavours
Oily fish such as mackerel, herrings and sardines carry intense flavours of the sea and need a crisp, bracing wine to match. There are plenty of white , rosé and red options.
Strongly flavoured fish is often simply cooked after all, it doesnt need much help to enhance its taste on the grill or barbecue and served just with a squeeze of lemon or herbs. Try barbecue sardineswith minerally Albariño, citrus Picpoul de Pinet or Sauvignon Blanc.
Fresh tapas-style Mediterranean anchovies are a delight with Iberian whites: Alvarinho, Albariño, Verdejo, Txakoliand salty fino or manzanilla Sherry. Cured anchovies, often used as a pizza topping or with tomato-based pasta sauces like punchy puttanesca, call for a light, juicy red. Italys Bardolino and Valpolicella are a good call, as are Spanish reds made from the Mencía grape.
A Perfect Match: Grilled Sea Trout With Green Tomato Salsa Verde
In this late-summer meal from Lisa Giffen, executive chef at Audrey in Los Angeles Hammer Museum, a side act steals the show: tart, zingy, subtly spicy salsa verde made with the seasons green and yellow tomatoes. Pureed, chopped and stirred together, they add a lively punch to grilled sea trout, a fish whose flavor and texture fall between freshwater trout and salmon . The trout gets a boost from a subtly eclectic marinadea mixture of garlic, turmeric, fish sauce, sumac and neutral grapeseed oilthat is equally at home on other fish like branzino or chicken. For a final flourish, the finished trout is topped with a salad of basil and mint.
For those not practiced in grilling fish, Giffen provides her tips for success alongside the recipe. But it comes down to basics: Start with a clean grill and leave the fish alone, only flipping once.
Restaurateur Soa Davies Forrest, who oversees Audreys Old World and California-focused wine list, pairs the trout with a ripe white from the Spanish variety Godello, with citrus and orchard fruit flavors and subtle herbed accents. The wines lushness counterbalances the fresh salsa and greens while highlighting the marinades tangy sweetness and the fishs richness. Its excellent on its own too, so treat yourself to a glass while youre cooking.
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Red Or White Wine With Fish
Fish is such a broad category of food, containing a wide variety of textures and flavours. Trying to choose just one to cover all seafood dishes simply wont do justice to either the fish or the wine.
The better questions to ask are, Which wine will pair best with this fish? or I love this bottle of wine, what kind of fish should I put on the menu?
Once you know which types of fish you enjoy, and understand the flavours they bring to a dish, you can start experimenting with different wine varietals until you find a perfect match.
The Best Wine For Seafood This Summer
Do you crave seafood in the summer? We certainly do. After a long day at the beach, there is absolutely nothing better than a fresh-caught piece of fish and a glass of vino as the sun goes down. However, the best wine for seafood may be a little bit more complicated than you think!
So, what kind of wine should you choose? Youve probably heard it said that red wine goes with meat, and white wine goes with fish. Problem solved, right? Sort of.
White wine does pair well with fish, but its a little more complicated than that. Not all white wines taste the same, and fish could mean anything from salmon to scallops.
Also, we dont mean to shock you, but certain red wines actually pair very well with certain types of fish.
If youre feeling overwhelmed by this veritable sea of wine pairing options, dont worry. Heres a guide on how to pair wine with seafood, plus some of our favorite summertime pairings.
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Food And Wine Pairing: Does Red Wine Go With Fish
The whole question of matching food and wine can seem beyond us, but it isnt. When it comes to matching food and wine it can seem that everything that can be said has been said, but at the same time theres a black hole. What do we mean by this? That having white wine with fish is all very well, they are a good match and all that, but there is a whole world beyond such classic pairings.
Before suggesting some different food and wine pairings we should define what we mean. What is matching wine with food about? The art of matching wine and food consists in finding that subtle harmony between a wine and the food it is enjoyed with, so that the blend enhances the pleasure derived on the palate from both.
To achieve this, the following should be borne in mind:
· The depth of flavour of the raw ingredients used in the making of the dish, along with their intensity. · The fullness and intensity of the wine, understood through several factors, such as the grape or grapes used in making the wine and how long it has been left to age in oak, among others.
That said, these are our suggestions to boost your gastronomic enjoyment at a time when we are being confined inside our homes:
-Starters: Sparkling wines and rosés are always a great choice as they are so versatile. One of our DOP Utiel Requena cavas from our A or Enterizo ranges, or a rosé from our AULA and Al Vent ranges are the perfect accompaniment to kick off a midday or evening meal .
