Pairings | Fresh crab
The best food matches for Semillon and Semillon-Sauvignon blends
One of the world’s most underrated grapes yet capable of making some of its most delicious dry whites, Sémillon isn’t on the radar for many. So if you get hold of a bottle what should you pair with it?
Although there’s a marked difference between young unoaked Sémillon and those blended with its habitual stablemate Sauvignon Blanc it helps to look at it as similar to but less pungent than Sauvignon. Without that marked green, grassy edge that can make sauvignon too much of a good thing with foods that have herbaceous note of their own such as asparagus, peas and mangetout.
If I had to sum up the ideal match in a few words think shellfish, fish and spring vegetables. Here are a few more specific suggestions:
Hunter Valley Semillon and other lighter styles
The Hunter Valley in Australia is the place to go for Semillon and has its most distinctive style. Fresh and zippy when it’s young, more complex and oily (in a nice way) as it ages this is the perfect wine for raw and lightly cooked shellfish especially with Asian flavours. (Think the delicious kind of food you get in Sydney.) Remember Hunter Valley wines are light - generally only about 11-12% ABV. Try them with:
Oysters, especially with an Asian dressing - the best match bar none
Fresh crab
Clams
Sashimi
Seafood salads
Spring veg such as asparagus and peas - a pasta primavera would work well with a Hunter Valley Semillon
Dishes with fennel
Dishes with a touch of citrus
Lightly cooked fish dishes such as seabass and razor clams
Fried soft shell crab - I owe this one to my colleague Victoria Moore
Salt and pepper squid
Young goats’ cheese or salads with goats’ cheese
For older vintages try smoked fish such as smoked salmon, smoked trout and - this is surprisingly good - kedgeree
Barossa Valley Semillon and other richer styles
Fuller and riper, often with a lick of oak, Southern Australian Semillons can take richer fish and shellfish dishes and light meats like chicken and pork - again with an Asian accent. Try:
Scallops (probably my number one choice)
Grilled lobster, prawns or Moreton Bay bugs
Salmon and salmon trout
Fish or chicken in a creamy sauce such as this kingklip with prawns and a white wine sauce I had in South Africa
Seafood risotto
Thickly sliced ham off the bone
Pork or chicken satay
Other spicy but not over-hot pork dishes
Grilled and barbecued fish
Semillon-Sauvignon blends
Found chiefly in the Margaret River region of Western Australia and in the Bordeaux region of France where it’s mainly oaked
For Australian sem-sauv I’d go for much the same sort of dishes as I would for a Hunter Valley Sémillon - perhaps a shade richer or with a little more citrus. This dish of pan-fried scallops with orange braised chicory, celeriac remoulade and lotus crisps was a perfect match or you could go for scallops with a pea purée. It would also stand up to a mild Thai green curry.
With oaked white Bordeaux I’d be looking at more classic French or European-style dishes like this light raviolo of prawns, simply cooked fish in butter like a Dover sole, poached salmon or a posh fish pie.
Photo © vsl at shutterstock.com
The best wines to pair with crab
Crab is one of the most delicious kinds of shellfish and the perfect foil for a crisp white wine. But there are other crab dishes that pair better with a fuller-bodied white or even a red.
In this post I’ll dive into my top wine pairings for different preparations of crab, including popular dishes like
- Dressed crab
- Crab bisque
- Thai crab cakes
- Deep fried softshell crab
As always, it’s not just about the crab but how it’s prepared and the other flavours involved...
Top wine pairings with crab
Dressed crab
You want to be able to taste the delicate meat so I’d suggest a classic Chablis or fine white burgundy such as Puligny-Montrachet. (The same would apply to fresh crab sandwiches or a simple crab salad though I might well pick a Sancerre or Pouilly Fumé for the latter, especially if it included asparagus. See also this match with 17 year old Muscadet!)
Linguine with crab
Quite a spicy recipe that usually includes garlic and red chilli and occasionally lemon. You could drink a citrussy (rather than a herbaceous) Sauvignon Blanc or a dry Kabinett Riesling with it but I’d go for a good quality Pinot Grigio, Soave or Albariño.
Crab bisque
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.
Thai crab cakes
My choice would depend on whether I was having these as a snack on their own or as part of a Thai meal. If it was the former I’d go for a dry Riesling or a Loire Sauvignon Blanc. With the latter I’d look for a wine with slightly more sweetness such as a Pinot Gris or a spätlese Riesling. Witbier is the other great pick as you’ll see from this Match of the Week.
Maryland crab cakes
The classic American crab cake, much richer than the Thai ones, but with a spicy kick. Unoaked or lightly oaked Chardonnay would be the safe choice but I’m not sure I wouldn’t reach for an Albariño.
Crab, saffron and leek quiche
Saffron is the key in this Rick Stein recipe. I love Viognier and Viognier blends with saffron-infused dishes so I’d go for that.
Deep-fried soft shell crabs
Sometimes these are served with a strong punchy dressing but I think, if you want to appreciate the delicate flavour of the crab, it’s better to serve them relatively simply. As with other deep-fried foods they go fantastically well with champagne and other sparkling wines.
Crab in black bean sauce
Always a tricky one as black bean sauce is so pungent but I came across a brilliant match at the Four Seasons hotel in Park Lane where chef Tak of Lung King Heen, the Cantonese restaurant at the Four Seasons Hong Kong was cooking for a week to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
His version was the best crab in black bean sauce I’ve ever eaten - deep and aromatic in flavour, sweet but not cloying. It was matched with a decent but not exceptional Mud House Pinot Noir from New Zealand and the pairing was spot on. I suspect you’d need a fuller, richer Pinot with most commercial black bean sauces.
Image by Larisa Blinova at shutterstock.com
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