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

The best wine pairings for lasagna

A traditional lasagna or lasagne, however you like to spell it, is the ultimate comfort food, a multi-layered pasta dish that traditionally combines silky pasta, savoury meats, creamy sauces, and bubbling cheese into one irresistible dish.

It’s generally a dish with which I like a glass of red wine but with so many variations on the basic recipe these days, there’s no single one-size-fits-all pairing.

In this brief guide, I’ll explore the best wines to pair with different styles of lasagna, some of which may surprise you!

Top wine pairings for lasagna

Classic meat lasagna

Basically you can go for the same type of wines as you would for a spaghetti bolognese though as the cheese sauce tends to make the dish a bit richer you might want to go for slightly more full-bodied reds. Maybe a modern style Tuscan red rather than a classic Chianti or a southern Italian or Sicilian red like Nero d’Avola or Primitivo. Barbera is a good pairing too as are Italian grape varieties such as sangiovese from elsewhere.

Outside Italy, I found this saperavi to be a great match with lasagna. A rioja crianza, a medium-bodied cabernet sauvignon or a zinfandel would be a great pairing too as with this ox cheek lasagna.

Vegetable lasagna

It makes sense to choose a wine pairing for vegetable lasagna that suits the vegetables that are in it. If it includes roasted Mediterranean vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers and courgettes a gutsy Languedoc or Roussillon red would be a good match.

 If it includes spinach or chard, a dry Italian white like a Gavi might be a better pairing while a pumpkin or butternut squash lasagna would suit a richer white such as a viognier or oak-aged chardonnay.

Mushroom lasagna works well with either white or red wines such as pinot noir. With a lasagne vincigrassi, a particularly opulent recipe made with porcini and cream (yes, it is as delicious as it sounds!) I’d drink a creamy white burgundy or other chardonnay (see for example my Match of the Week: Vincigrassi and Saint-Aubin).

Wines to match different pasta sauces

What wine should you pair with your favourite pasta?

As you might guess it depends on the sauce rather than the pasta shape. From rich and meaty ragùs to zesty herby pesto, each sauce has its own unique character that suggests a different wine pairing. That said I like to pair Italian wine with pasta wherever possible as it suits it so well and isn’t too full-bodied or alcoholic.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through the best wine pairings for six popular styles of pasta sauce, from the classic tomato-based marinara to creamy Alfredo and beyond. Each sauce calls for a different approach: think crisp whites to cut through the richness of a carbonara, or a bold red to stand up to a hearty Bolognese. 

What Wine to Match with Different Pasta Sauces

Creamy pasta sauces

To offset creamy sauces (eg carbonara or fettucine alfredo) think Soave, Bianco di Custoza, Pinot Bianco, Sicilian whites and lighter Chardonnay or Chardonnay blends.

Spaghetti Carbonara. Image source: Engin Akyurt

See also six of the best wine matches for spaghetti carbonara

With baby vegetables (primavera) or herbs (verdura): try a crisper Italian whites such as Falanghina, Vermentino or Arneis. Or a Loire Sauvignon Blanc.

With mushroom pastas serve Soave, Bianco di Custoza, Lugana or Chardonnay, or a light Merlot or Pinot Noir.

Seafood pasta sauces

Seafood (spaghetti alle vongole, spaghetti with mussels, linguine with crab) need crisp dry whites such as Frascati, Verdicchio, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, Muscadet or Picpoul de Pinet. Crab or lobster sauces can take a fuller white such as a good quality Soave or Chardonnay.

The best wine pairings for spaghetti alle vongole

Photo by tofuprod licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Red or tomato-based pasta sauces

Tomato-based sauces include fresh tomato with basil: crisp dry whites such as Pinot Grigio or Verdicchio.

Cooked tomato sauces such as napoletana or marinara): Montepulciano d’Abruzzo or a light Sicilian red.

Meat-based sauces e.g. bolognese, spaghetti with meatballs, sausage-based sauces are a logical partner for Sicilian and Puglian reds (especially Primitivo), Sangiovese, Rosso di Montalcino and inexpensive Barberas. Zinfandel is good too.

Six of the best matches for spaghetti bolognese

Pesto and other cheese-based sauces

Dry whites such as Gavi, Soave or Verdicchio are best with green pesto - you could also try Sicilian whites and lighter Chardonnays).

With red pesto I’d go for a medium bodied red such as Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Sangiovese or Merlot. It’s a colour thing as much as anything

With cheese-based sauces such as four cheese and Gorgonzola): try crisp dry whites such as Verdicchio, light Chardonnays or light reds such as Teroldego or Merlot.

Spicy pasta sauces

With hot spicy sauces such as arrabbiatta, aglio olio e peperoncino (garlic, oil and chilli) and puttanesca (anchovies, capers and olives) try either a sharply flavoured dry white wine or a rustic Italian red: a Primitivo or Sicilian red or a Zinfandel

The best wine pairings for spaghetti puttanesca

Photo by being0828 licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

With fashionable cacio e pepe (pecorino cheese and black pepper sauce) I prefer a light red like a frappato as you can see from one of my matches of the week.

Pasta sauces with pulses

Tuscan reds such as Chianti work well with pasta with beans or lentils (Pasta e Fagioli) or try an earthy, neutral white such as Orvieto or Vernaccia di San Gimignano)

Top image by Brent Hofacker at shutterstock.com

Pairing wine and cheese: 6 ways to do it better

Ask most people what the best wine is with cheese and most would choose a full-bodied red. But is it really the best pairing? It depends on the wine, it depends on the cheese and it depends on you. If you LOVE red wine with cheese nothing is going to put you off the experience.

If however you’d like to up your game when it comes to wine and cheese matching here are some top tips (based on YEARS of wine drinking and cheese scoffing!)

Decide which is the hero, the cheese or the wine

Artisan handmade cheeses are harder to pair with wine than mass produced supermarket cheeses. Why? Because they tend to be matured longer and have a more pronounced texture and flavour. If you really enjoy your cheese at the point at which it’s running off the cheese board don’t pair it with your most precious wine.

If you have a special bottle pick a cheese to match

The more cheeses you have the more unlikely it is one wine will go with them all. If you’re putting together a cheeseboard to show off an expensive wine avoid strong blues and powerful, pongy washed rind cheeses. Cutting the rind off the cheese on your plate also helps to avoid bitter notes that can jar with a fine red.

Other ingredients can help

The bread or crackers you choose, the kind of fruit - fresh or dried - nuts, olives, and cold meats can all help a wine pairing along. Think of the classic match of manchego and membrillo (quince paste) or a a crumbly walnut bread with blue cheese. Introducing another ingredient can build a bridge to the wine you’re drinking and make it taste more delicious. (Brie, fresh cherries and Beaujolais which has cherry notes of its own is another example.)

White wine often goes better with cheese than red

Surprised? Well think of the fruits that go with cheese - apples and pears being the obvious example. Their fresh flavours are reflected in white wines rather than red.

Classic white wine matches are goats cheese and sauvignon blanc and comté with the local crisp whites of the Jura region (alpine cheeses generally go better with white wines than red). And next time you’re eating cheddar try a glass of oaky chardonnay. You may be pleasantly surprised!

Respect tried and tested matches but don’t be afraid to take them a step further

Analyze what makes them work. Stillton and port for example is a demonstration of the fact that sweet red wines go with blue cheese. So why not an amarone or Valpolicella ripasso red with gorgonzola? Or sweet white wines with a blue (just as Sauternes goes with Roquefort)

Decide when you’re going to serve the cheese - French-style after the main course or after dessert

If it’s the former, tailor your cheeseboard to the wine you’re drinking with the main course. That’s quite likely to be red so concentrate on harder cheeses. If it’s the latter choose cheeses that pair well with sweet wines (so blues rather than a delicate goats cheese, for example). If you’re buying from an independent cheese shop let them know what else you’re planning for the menu and, if possible, get a taste.

For many more tips and some sensational cheese pairings why don’t you download my ebook 101 Great Ways to Enjoy Cheese & Wine.

Image © Belokoni Dmitri at fotolia.com