How to pair red wine and seafood
Seafood and wine are a perfect pair.
Personally, I’m a seasonal wine drinker. In the colder months, I find myself gravitating more towards red wine than white. There’s just something about a glass of Cabernet Franc and a snowy winter evening that just clicks, you know?
There is a common myth that red wine doesn’t pair with seafood and well, it’s just that: a myth. “Seafood” refers to thousands of different species of marine foods from delicate, flaky whitefish, to dense fatty fish, briny bivalves, and even plants. To assume that red wine doesn’t pair with any of these is to rob yourself of hundreds of delicious food and wine pairings.
When it comes to pairing red wine with seafood, there are a couple of things to keep in mind.
Skip the lemon squeeze
Avoid adding lemon or cooking your seafood with high acid foods like shallots. Acidity clashes with the tannins and can turn a red wine sweet and make it fall flat on the palette.
Look for lighter reds
Generally speaking, light to medium bodied reds with softer tannins will pair best with seafood. I find that lighter reds like Gamay and Pinot Noir pair beautifully with almost any seafood dish.
Pair with the dominant flavours
Depending on the dish you’re preparing, the fish might not actually be the strongest flavour. For example, if you’re preparing a seafood pasta with a tomato sauce, the tomato is likely to be the more dominant flavour. Focus your wine pairing on the dominant flavour rather than the seafood in this case.
Let weight and texture be your guide
Lighter, flakier fish should be paired with lighter bodied wines to avoid overpowering the delicate flavours. Dense, fatty fish like tuna or salmon can stand up against a more medium-bodied red.
Preparation also matters
The way the seafood is prepared can also affect the flavors and pairings. For example, grilled salmon has a much stronger flavor than poached salmon. A poached salmon would welcome a lighter red or even a rosé, while grilled salmon could stand up to a fuller red wine
When in doubt, rosé
While technically not a “red wine”, roses are made from red grapes and are almost always a great pairing with any type of seafood dish.
At the end of the day, wine pairing comes down to personal preference. Every single wine pairing article you read online will tell you something different. So when in doubt, just go with a wine that you already know you love and chances are, it’ll work beautifully!