Tips For Pairing Wine With Seafood & Fish
Just as different types of seafood vary in flavor, texture, and personality, so do the best wines that can be chosen to accompany them. The fat contained in a fish is a major determinant of its flavor profile. Most white-fleshed fish are mild in taste while also being lean. Darker-fleshed fish contain more fat and are stronger in flavor. To choose a wine that will be great with any given type of seafood, it is wise to consider the fat content of the fish as well as how it will be prepared. Will, it simply be broiled with herbs, or will it be fried or served with a rich, creamy sauce?
Of course, choosing the right wine to have with seafood is a matter of personal preference, and whatever a person likes is what they should choose. But in general, choosing a wine that is equal to a seafood dish in intensity, fullness, and richness will ensure a more memorable dining experience.
One general rule for wine and food pairings is to Pair like with like. For example, delicate, white-fleshed fish nearly always pairs well with a wine with similar delicacies, such as a dry, crisp Sauvignon Blanc. This light to medium-bodied wine may vary in flavor from grassy or herbal to citrus or tropical, but it is not likely to overpower a mild, simply cooked seafood dish.
Wine Pairing : The Best Wines To Pair With Seafood
A glass of wine with a delicious seafood lunch or dinner is almost cliché, but we pair the two for a reason. Whether white or red, rosé or brut, the right wine takes your seafood experience to another level.
When considering your seafood, you have to know three things: the intensity of flavor, the texture of the meat and if its a heavy or light fish. For the wine, you also need to know the color, the sweetness and whether or not you want sparkling or still. Based on these traits, weve come up with four perfect pairings you can impress your friends with at your next dinner party.
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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Wine Pairing With Shrimp
Prawns are delicious cooked in butter and garlic, and garlic loves Sauvignon Blanc. Its zesty citrusy notes are a perfect accompaniment to a summer barbecue and garlic prawns on a skewer.
Want to avoid the garlic and just enjoy the flavours of a deliciously cooked shrimp or prawn? A crisp, sparkling, minerally white wine like Pinot Grigio is ideal. You almost want your wine to act like a squeeze of lemon that respects the flavours of the shrimp. A crisp Rosé, still or sparkling, or even a Prosecco will each emphasise something different.
Within the world of curry, seafood is often overlooked and especially shrimp because of its delicate flavours. That being said, with this easy to cook spicy shrimp curry recipe youll know youre onto a winner. Spicier dishes love wine that is a little sweet and fruity. Try the spicy shrimp curry with this Mount Riley Marlborough Riesling. Its zesty, fruity, and wonderfully balanced.
Wines Not To Pair With Lobster
Lobster is a surprisingly versatile seafood to match with wine, as it goes with everything from light, acidic drops to heavier wines with some oak.
According to the book, Pairing with The Masters, by renowned chef Ken Arnone and Master of Wine, Jennifer Simonetti-Brown, there are a couple of wines to be careful with when serving lobster for dinner:
- Rich, Oaky Chardonnay: Sometimes, if a wine is too rich, it can overpower the sweet taste of the lobster.
- NV Brut Champagne: If a champagne is too dry, it can alter the flavor of the lobster in a bad way. Steer clear of zero dosage and brut nature wines, and try to find more delicate styles of Champagne, like Pol Roger or Laurent Perrier.
- Roero Arneis: Sometimes wines that have a lemony flavor can clash with the lemon the lobster with.
Lobster is very much a white wine pairing it will not go nearly as well with red wine. The saltiness in the lobster tends to draw out the bitterness of the red, while the tannin in the wine will bring out the salty iodine notes in the lobster.
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What Wine To Pair With Seafood
Are you planning a dinner at home? Should you get red wine or white? Different recipes of meats, chicken, pasta and even desserts each go with different types of wine depending on how they are cooked. But what about seafood? Seafood have so many different varieties and can also be prepared in so many ways that there is no one wine that would perfectly go with everything. This article is a guide to choosing what wine goes with seafood. So keep reading to find out which wine pairs for different types of seafood meal preparation.
Top Wines To Drink With Seafood
As a general rule, the best food and wine pairing is a wine you enjoy and a food that you love. For the most part, youre bound to enjoy both, no matter what youre eating or drinking. However, if theres one pairing that might be considered tricky, its seafood.
Its due largely to the fact that seafood dishes tend to have delicate flavors, which can be overpowered by bigger wines. So, weve put together this list of wines for pairing with seafood, both red and white. These selections will help make your seafood dish the star of your meal.
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Why You Should Pair Wine And Food
For an elevated meal experience, its important to know what wine goes with seafood. This will make you feel like youre eating at an expensive fine dining restaurant even when you are just at home. The perfect wine enhances and brings out the flavor of your food. Wine and food react to each other, thats why the perfect combination of the two will make you enjoy your eating experience even more. You will also impress your guests with the feast you have prepared if you serve them the perfect wine.
How To Pair Wine With Hot Seafood And Fish
Whether youre serving up whole-baked snapper, lobster mornay or a grilled seafood platter, these recipes and wine suggestions will bring out the best in hot seafood.
Summer is a wonderful time for seafood and this versatile protein lends itself beautifully to cooking and entertaining al fresco. Recipes that feature hot seafood and fish always make for a memorable lunch or dinner especially when paired with the right wine. Most critics agree the citrus, tropical and stonefruit flavours of white and sparkling wine are always best, but dishes that feature bold, spicy sauces and accompaniments can go well with a glass of red. Try these ideas
BAKED DISHES
3. Tuna cassoulet Another dish best served with a classic white, this version of a French cassoulet sees tender tuna fillets baked in the rich flavours of tomato, leek and Dijon mustard. Served in individual ramekins, its perfect for dinner parties or a special family meal.
GRILLED1. While squid is normally always best served with white wine, this recipe offsets its tender flavour with chipolata sausages, spicy tomato relish and a peppery rocket salad rich, hearty flavours that can all stand up to the dense and juicy palate of the award-winning Houghton Red Classic. A dry rosé or light pinot noir are also good choices.
This is a promotional feature brought to you by taste.com.au and Houghton Wine.
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What Wine Is Best For Seafood
Seafood and Wine Pairing 101: What Wines Pair Best with Seafood
- White Wine Dry white wine like Pinot Gris or Sauvignon Blanc pair best with fish like cod and tilapia.
- White Wine For white wine thats not so dry like Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio, dishes with crab or lobster taste best.
- Red Wine.
- Rosé or Sparkling Wine.
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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Snapper Grouper And Striped Bass
Chef Evans likes to go the simplistic route with fish like snapper, grouper, and striped bass. They tend to be lighter and more delicate so just a bit of lemon and butter is all they really need. He recommends baking or cooking in a skillet, with some grilled or sautéed veggies to join. As for wine, Carter opts for Muscadet for its acid and saline qualities along with Riesling. She also suggests a blanc vermouth like Mancino Secco.
Editors’ Recommendations
What White Wine Is Good For Cooking Seafood
My three favorite grape varietals for cooking are Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, and unoaked Chardonnay. Pinot Grigio is the most neutral of the three, which makes it the most versatile. Sauvignon Blanc provides racy acidity, which is particularly delicious in seafood dishes or with sauces utilizing heavy cream.
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Cod Sole Plaice And Haddock
For this seafood, it’s all about those light-moderate white wines. Think of lighter white Burgundy, Pinot Gris, dry Rieslings or New World Chardonnays , or if you want to be really adventurous, seek out some Picpoul. You want to be able to pair the smooth subtleties of these semi-rich wines without overpowering the delicate flavors of the fish.
Pairing Wine With Seafood And Fish: Which Wine To Choose
Pairing wine with seafood or fish is something that is often done- and can also often be done wrong. Seafood isnt really like other things that you might pair wine with. There are many different facets to both seafood , and wine . This can make pairing wine with seafood particularly challenging.
As with all food and wine pairings, the absolutely paramount thing to concern yourself with is whether you, the consumer, enjoy the pairings. If an article tells you that you absolutely must pair your halibut with Sauvignon Blanc but you find your heart sinking because you know that you just do not enjoy Sauvignon Blanc- you wont enjoy the dish. In fact, if you have a wine that you hate- no matter how good the technicality of the pairing you run the risk of ruining the entire meal for yourself.
Generally speaking, when pairing wine with seafood, the kind of wine that you are looking for is a driving wine. The best wines for a seafood pairing will be fresh with a little texture to them. Its very common to hear that you should only pair fish with white wine, but as you read on you will discover that that is simply not always the case.
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How To Pair Wine With Fish And Seafood
Fall is arguably the best time of year to feast, no matter where you live. For those near the ocean or at least a good seafood market, theres all kinds of autumnal bounty.
Wine can play a key role here, enhancing the flavors of things like fresh blue crab or dishes like cioppino. There are obvious matches made in heaven, such as Muscadet and oysters or grilled salmon and Pinot Noir. But there are lesser-known couplings as well that can be equally resonating, if not even more so.
Another bonus of eating seafood as the days get shorter and chillier? It will remind you of the beach and its many sun-kissed joys. So take a look at some ideas below as you look to incorporate more sea-caught protein to your table, whether its fresh from the coast or thawed from your freezer.
What Kind Of Wine Is Good With Crab Meat
Rich and luxurious this recipe normally contains cream and cognac as well as having a dominant flavour of brown crab meat a good opportunity to crack open a seriously good barrel-fermented Chardonnay with a couple of years bottle age. White Rhône and Languedoc blends of Roussanne, Marsanne and Viognier work well too.
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The 7 Best Seafood & Wine Pairings
Everything is better with wineincluding seafood. However, it can be tricky to find the right wine pairing to go with your favorite seafood meals. For that reason, the team of wine experts at Theorem Vineyards has put together the best seafood and wine pairings. After reading this guide, youll know exactly what to order with your favorite seafood dish.
Krug Grande Cuve Brut
Origin: Champagne, FranceVarietal: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot MeunierPrice: $180ABV: 12%
Wed heard that Krug was organizing fish and Champagne events to showcase how well their wine shows off the sweetness and delicacy of shellfish and white fish and now we know why. If you want the ultimate in indulgent wine and seafood pairing, try this world-class, non-vintage Champagne with your favorite crustacean or sushi. Its a full-bodied bubbly with depth of flavors, yet it maintains lemony freshness and a hint of grapefruit zest on the finish.
> For more information, visit the Krug official website.
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Shrimp Crab And Flounder
Evans likes to cook shrimp, crab, and flounder on the half-shell on the grill. The skin protects the fish from the heat, ensuring the end result retains a delicious amount of moisture. To really bring out the flavors, Carter suggests wines like rosé from the Bandol region, or a Gamay sparkling rosé for its fruit-forward qualities. Also suggested is Voignier given its softness and bitterness Carter likens to almond husks.
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Well leave the wine selection up to you.
Special thanks to Charles Olken, the publisher of Connoisseurs Guide to California Wine, a monthly newsletter available by subscription only. In its 40 years of existence, the Guide has proven itself as an unrivaled source of accurate, hard-hitting commentary on the wines and wineries of California.
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Pinot Noir And Freshwater Fish
You may have always heard to never drink red wine with fish, but thats not always the case. Sure, with many red wines, the high tannin content makes the bites of fish taste like metal. Some red wines can be paired with specific types of fish, and actually strengthen the tastes from both the wine and the fish.
One such versatile red wine is Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir is a light bodied red wine that is not as robust as many other varieties of red wine are. Its lower amounts of tannins contribute to the idea that you can pair it with lighter foods such as seafood. In fact, some say that Pinot Noir can be paired with almost anything. For fish, its best to go with a freshwater fish like salmon or trout that has dense, meaty flesh. Additionally, your fish dish should be on the heavy side served with a thick tomato or cream based sauce. Most pasta dishes that incorporate fish into them would work well with a Pinot Noir. With the right fish, the more complex flavors of a good Pinot Noir can be brought out resembling vanilla, clove, licorice and caramel.
Best Wine To Pair With Cioppino
Cioppino is an Italian seafood stew, that was created and originated out of San Francisco in California. Because it is seafood you can expect it to pair well with white wines, especially fuller-bodied wines such as Friulano, Zinfandel, or Chardonnay. This pairing is thanks to the shellfish and the texture of the shellfish inside.
Because the dish has Italian routes, the best pairings for it will be Italian wines, particularly full-bodied white wines.
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