Pairings | Fish & shellfish
The best wine (and other) pairings with oysters
If you’re an oyster fan you’ll probably be aware of the classic matches - Champagne, Chablis and Guinness among them. But there are some good alternatives you may not have thought of.
Which one you choose will obviously depend on which drink you like best - there’s no point in serving Guinness if you hate the stuff - and how the oysters are served. Cooked oysters are generally rather more forgiving than raw ones.
It also makes quite a difference how you season them. Personally I’m in favour of no seasoning at all, letting the wine do the job of a squeeze of lemon but conversely adding lemon can make richer chardonnays and champagnes work better if those are the wines you’d rather drink.
Chablis
There are actually fossilised oyster shells in the soil of the Chablis region so it’s maybe not too fanciful to say that’s why it hits just exactly the right note. I’d pick a recent vintage though rather than a mature one, a premier cru if you’re treating yourself to natives (below), whose season starts on Septmber 1st.
Champagne (and dry sparkling wine)
Here it’s the bubbles that provide the magic, the perfect textural contrast to the smooth velvety texture of the oysters. Ultra dry champagnes like Laurent Perrier Ultra Brut and Drappier Brut Nature that don’t have any dosage (sugar and wine solution) added to them before bottling work best though lighter styles of regular non-vintage Champagne such as Taittinger will do a perfectly good job. Sparkling wine is also the best match by far for deep-fried oysters.
See also this Match of the Week: Oysters and Tasmanian fizz
Muscadet and other crisp, dry whites
The cut price option, clean-as-a-whistle Muscadet acts just like a squeeze of lemon - so don’t add lemon too. The best wines come from the Sèvre-et-Maine region and are labelled ‘sur lie’ (the wine is aged on the lees, the residue of the yeast used to ferment the wine which gives it more flavour).
Also in this category of bone-dry whites comes Picpoul de Pinet from the south of France, Pinot Grigio from Italy and Albariño from Galicia in northern Spain. Sharp Greek whites like Assyrtiko and Roditis are great too.
Sauvignon Blanc
This is what they would drink round Bordeaux, also an oyster-producing area and it works elsewhere too, particularly when oysters are served, as they often are Down Under, with Asian flavours. Again keep the wine young and unoaked. The added zestiness of Sauvignon also helps with strong seasonings like shallot and red wine vinegar or Tabasco.
Chardonnay
Not great, in my view, with raw oysters but very nice with cooked ones, particularly in a creamy sauce or chowder. Choose a lightly oaked, creamy style such as you find in Burgundy, Limoux in southern France or cool climate regions of the New World.
Guinness and other stouts
It’s mainly a colour and texture thing. Black on white (or rather, cream). Smooth layered on smooth. And the saltiness of the oysters counteracts the bitterness of the beer. If you like stout this match is sublime.
Kasteel Cru
This unusual lager made in Alsace from champagne yeasts works much the same way as Champagne. A good bet for those who prefer to drink beer but don’t like stout.
Perrier rondelle
Iced sparkling water (it doesn’t have to be Perrier) with a slice of lemon. Dry, refreshing and doesn’t detract from the delicate flavour of the oysters
Other wines may well work too depending on the seasoning and/or other ingredients you put with them as in this pairing of oysters and dry German riesling.
4 good wines to pair with red mullet
Red mullet or rouget can be a bit of a challenge to pair with wine as it is often accompanied by a rich sauce made from the liver or with punchy accompaniments such as tapenade, olives or saffron
As this guide remarks it tastes remarkably of shellfish (grilled or roast rather than raw) so take account of that in your wine choice. Above all it’s a Mediterranean fish so think in terms of the wine producing countries around the Med.
Her’s what I’d go for:
Strong dry rosé
The fashionable pale pink Provençal rosés will do but I’d go for something a bit stronger and darker from the Rhône or Languedoc. Bandol rosé would be perfect - or a Tavel.
White Côtes-du-Rhône and other white Rhône blends
White Rhône blends have a savouriness that works really well with mullet. Particularly if they are dominated by Marsanne as you can see from this post
Medium bodied (but not too fruity) southern French, Spanish or Italian reds
Something simple like a Costières de Nîmes. Victoria Moore suggests an Etna red in her Wine Dine Dictionary which I think would work really well
Chilled fino sherry
My go to for many tricky matches and a winner here, especially if it's accompanied by tapenade or olives.
I also have a hunch - as yet unverified - that orange or lighter skin contact wines would work, having similar tannins to a red. Worth a try anyway.
Image ©fazeful at fotolia.com
The best wine pairings for seabass
Seabass is one of the most popular fish on restaurant menus these days - usually treated quite simply and rarely sauced. But what wine should you pair with it?
Crisp unoaked whites
Because it has a delicate flavour I would generally choose a crisp, unoaked white of some quality from a recent vintage so the wine’s clean minerality is still on show. A good Loire sauvignon blanc such as Sancerre or Pouilly Fumé would be a good choice as would a premier cru Chablis, a Spanish albarino or an Italian vermentino or Greco di Tufo especially if the recipe is accompanied by a salsa verde.
Other good quality sauvignon blancs work well too as in this pairing of a seabass ‘crudo’ with a Fontodi Meriggio at the River Cafe but I think the pairing owed as much to the gorgeous olive oil as the fish.
Dry aromatic whites
When seabass is cooked Chinese-style with soy and spring onions turn to a more aromatic white such as a grüner veltliner or a dry riesling from the Pfalz, Alsace or Austria.
Pale, crisp dry rosés
Pale Côtes de Provence rosés are also delicious with seabass but again ensure they’re from a recent vintage, 2016 at the time of writing
Sake
More robust preparations such as this Chilean seabass with white miso would be better with a good quality chilled sake.
Photo © zinaidasopina112 @fotolia.com
8 great food pairings for stout and porter
Although there are obviously differences between the two types of beer, dark stouts and porters tend to pair with similar types of food. Here are my top matches ...
Oysters and Guinness is one of the beer world’s classic pairings only bettered in my experience by an oyster rarebit. A creamy chowder with oysters and scallops is also great with a lighter stout
Dark beefy or venison stews like my recipe for braised beef with port and porter. Ox cheeks, ox tail all love stouts and porters
Steak pies such as this steak and stilton pie I enjoyed with a London porter or a hot game pie
Boiled bacon and cabbage - a classic St Patrick’s Day pairing with a smooth dark creamy Irish stout. Mmmm.
American-style barbecue especially BBQd ribs or smoked brisket - one for an American-style porter - even a smoked one if you want to layer on some extra smokey flavour.
Stilton and similar mellow blue cheeses - porter works in the same way as port: a strong dark contrast. Brilliant.
Dark chocolate cakes and desserts - If you don’t have a very sweet tooth and enjoy black coffee with your chocolate you’ll enjoy a porter too. A stronger, sweeter imperial stout is arguably better still. Especially with brownies.
Vanilla ice cream - Imperial stout and ice cream makes a great float. Here’s Garrett Oliver’s Imperial Stout Float from the Brooklyn Brewery
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Food pairings for hefeweizen and other German-style wheat beers
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Food pairings for wheat beer I: witbiers (bières blanches) and lighter wheat beers
Wheat beers are fabulously flexible when it comes to food matching - the beer world’s equivalent of a crisp white wine.
There are two main styles - the cloudy, citrussy, aromatic Belgian-style witbier (aka bière blanche) and the richer banana-and-clove flavours of German hefeweizen which you can read about here.
In between are a range of wheat beers from different sources which fall somewhere between the two but are basically suited, like witbier, to salads, seafood and dishes flavoured with citrus and herbs
Matches for Northern French and Belgian style witbiers:
Seafood such as crab, mussels, oysters and clams - witbier is great for a beery version of moules marinières
Simply prepared fish like fried or grilled sole or plaice
Smoked salmon or trout
Dim sum and other light Chinese dishes such as stir fries
Sushi
Raw fish such as ceviche and tartares
Fried fish like fish and chips, calamari or whitebait
Seafood pastas and noodles like crab linguine with chilli and coriander or pad thai
Seafood and light vegetable risottos
White pizza or seafood-topped pizza
Spring vegetables such as peas, beans and asparagus - as you can see from this article
Light fresh cheeses such as young goat cheese, sheep cheese and feta. Beer and food matching guru Garret Oliver recommends an omelette with sharp apple and goats cheese
Salads, especially mozzarella basil and tomato salad, Greek salad and caesar salad
Brunch dishes
Potjevleesch - a chunky jellied terrine of pork, chicken and rabbit you find in north-east France
Lighter Thai and Mexican dishes flavoured with citrus and herbs
Thai green curries
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