It is believed that only white wine can make a good pair of fish. However, modern chefs believe that everything is not so simple, because the varieties of fish and dishes from it can be very different. What wine is served with fish? What are the rules of choice?
Basic Rules
When choosing drinks for fish dishes, it is necessary to take into account their role in the food and richness of wines. Thus, there are three unspoken rules that should be followed when serving alcohol:
- If the fish is not the soloing element of the dish, but, for example, is in pasta sauce, then you can completely rely on your own taste when choosing a wine. In this case, any drinks, both red and white, are appropriate, they are selected on the basis of the main elements of the dish, spices.
- If the fish is served in whole pieces, and it was subjected to minimal heat treatment, due to which it retained its delicate taste, then the wine, respectively, should be light and airy so as not to interrupt the taste of the main dish.
- Fish cooked in the form of a steak or generously flavored with fat sauce, allows you to choose more rich and heavy wines, including red ones.
If you follow these simple rules, you can easily choose wine for fish from the range of the alcohol department of any store. However, if you want to impress the gourmet, you need to more carefully select the drinks.
Sparkling wine
Champagne has a light taste and is considered the perfect drink for fried fish low-fat varieties. The bubbles possessed by the alcoholic drink complement the taste of aquatic vertebrates, and do not suppress it, as is the case with ordinary wines. At the same time, preference is given to champagne with sour taste. Dry or semi-sweet varieties are considered ideal.
Chenin Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc
What kind of fish is served with these types of wine? Since these drinks have a dry and strict taste, they perfectly set off simple fish dishes that do not contain complex sauces or a large number of spices and spices.
Chenin Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc served with clams (mussels, oysters), halibut, flounder, striped bass, som. It is important that the fish is steamed, slightly fried or cooked. So she does not lose her natural taste.
Chardonnay, Fium Blanc, Viognier, Pinot Gris
What wine is best for fish? Varieties of aquatic animals such as striped bass or lobster, go well with Chardonnay wine, as it has a dense taste that at the same time does not interrupt the fish dish.
Fatter types of fish, such as mackerel or bluefish, are ideally combined with fium blanc, viognier, and pinot gris. It should also take into account the method of preparation of mackerel. Preference should be given to dishes prepared on the grill or baked in the oven.
Marsan, Rusan, Riesling
These varieties of alcoholic beverages have a slight shade of tropical fruit on the palate, therefore they are ideally combined with any kind of fish served with spicy sauces. In addition, a sort of wine like Riesling perfectly complements Asian-style seafood dishes.
Pinot noir, gamay, sangiovese, grenache
The unspoken rules for choosing wine to fish do not imply the supply of red wine, but today there are light red drinks that can perfectly emphasize the taste of seafood dishes. Wine varieties such as Pinot Noir, Gamay, Sangiovese and Grenache have a light texture and a mild flavor. They will emphasize the flavoring qualities of dishes made from fatty fish species, such as mackerel, salmon, tuna, marlin , bluefish, swordfish, salmon.
Red wines have a high content of tannins, which give them a tart taste. Such drinks are not recommended for spicy fish dishes, as they can give them an unpleasant metallic taste.
Pink wine
Which fish is served with pink wine ? Such alcoholic beverages have characteristics similar to those characteristic of white wine, therefore they are ideally combined with low-fat varieties of fish, which were subjected to minor heat treatment and were not seasoned with spices and thick sauces. A combination of fish soups and seafood is considered successful.
Wines and red fish
Red fish (all species from the Sturgeon family) is considered delicious. Therefore, the drinks that accompany dishes from it should be special. What kind of wine is served with red fish?
Most often on the tables of connoisseurs is salmon, pink salmon, trout and chum salmon. They can be prepared in many ways. The simplest ones are ordinary baking in salt crust or on the grill. The top of the art of cooking is complex multicomponent sauces for risotto or pasta. However, they are united by a choice of alcoholic drinks. A combination of dishes from such fish with chardonnay, sauvignon, pink wines is considered ideal. What wine is drunk with cold or hot smoked red fish? In this case, sparkling wines should be preferred.
Choosing a Sauce Beverage
Most often, fish dishes have a dressing that favorably complements the taste of the main component of the food. You should consider the composition and texture of sauces for the right wine selection. At the same time, experts recommend adhering to such rules:
- the darker the sauce, the darker the wine;
- the sweeter the sauce, the sweeter the drink;
- for sauces that include citrus fruits (lemon or lime, oranges, etc.), wines with grassy notes are well suited: Sauvignon Blanc, Gavi, Vigne Verde;
- wines such as sweet riesling or lambrusco are combined with dark and sweet sauces such as teriyaki;
- spicy dressings with chili pepper require a non-standard piquant wine, such as gruner;
- sauce with herbs favorably emphasize a wine with grassy notes - chablis, grenache blanc, torrontes.
When preparing fish dishes, you should also take into account the varieties of fish, to which one or another dressing is suitable. This will help to make the right choice of drink.
Wine Rules
Caring about what kind of wine is served with fish, one should not forget about the nuances of serving that exist:
- The size of the glass should be sufficient to accommodate a certain amount of the drink, not exceeding the permissible maximum filling of the container.
- The leg of the glass should have a height of 4-5 cm so that while holding the container by it, the contents do not heat up from the heat of the hands.
- Sparkling wines are usually served chilled to a temperature of + 5 ... + 6 degrees. Dry white and pink alcoholic beverages should have a temperature of +12 degrees when serving. Light and soft red wines are served chilled (+14 degrees). Compliance with such a clear framework is important, since the wrong temperature of the drink significantly affects its taste.
- It is necessary to uncork the bottle using a special corkscrew, as other methods can damage the cork or neck of the bottle, which will cause their particles to get into the drink.
- Table and young wines with a simple bouquet must be uncorked several hours before serving. This is necessary in order to saturate the drink with oxygen.
- Aged and sparkling drinks are opened immediately before serving so that the gases and the unique aroma of alcohol do not evaporate.
When wondering what kind of wine is served with fish and meat, it is necessary to start not only from generally accepted norms, but also from one’s own preferences, as it can be quite difficult to enjoy a dry or sweet drink if their taste seems unpleasant.