Pairing Wine and Seafood

You want to prepare a delicious seafood recipe and have a pleasant meal with your family or friends. To make your meal even more delightful, you also would like to choose a wine to drink. But, how to choose the wine that matches to your seafood dish?

As general rule, seafood and fish should be served with white wine, rule that is very helpful in case you are no wine expert,but there are other factors that should be considered when pairing wine and seafood. A well combined wine with your meal can even enhance its taste.

When pairing wine with food you should think about flavors, you should consider not only the main ingredient of your dish (a fish, for example) but also the other ingredients used to season your recipe, which usually will contribute to a more distinct taste than the main ingredient itself. This way a lightly flavored fish or seafood combine well with a light whitewine, like a Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay, while dishes with robust flavors, spices and tomatoes (for example, Mediterranean dishes likea paella) would combine better with a medium bodied red or a lovely rosé.

Tuna, salmon and few full-flavored fish can be paired with a red wine, specially if they are grilled. However, it is important to avoid high-tannin red wines when pairing wine with fish or seafood. These wines tend to taste steely if combined with fish or seafood. Therefore avoid pairing Cabernet, Chiantis and full-bodied Merlots and Syrahs.

A good combination to lobster, shrimps and crab is a Chardonnay or Riesling, and oysters, clams and mussel pair well with aPinot Gris or Sauvignon Blanc.

Cheers and enjoy your meal !!!

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