Oysters and red wine

One of the columns and blogs I follow with great enjoyment is The Pour by Eric Asimov, drinks writer of the New York Times. The other day he raised the issue of drinking red wine with oysters under the heading ‘A rule just waiting to be broken’.

The wines he tried were an Arbois Trousseau, a Morgon, a Chinon and a Givry. And his conclusion? That while he still preferred a dry white like a Muscadet the pairings with the Morgon and Givry in particular were surprisingly enjoyable (you can see his account in full on the Times’ Dining & Wine pages).

Asimov didn’t mention how he seasoned the oysters, if at all, which would obviously have made quite a difference. Some years back I tried a similar exercise with Hugo Rose MW, then of Lay & Wheeler when we tried a batch of Colchester oysters plain, with lemon juice, with shallot vinegar and Tabasco. The latter pretty well annihilated all comers except for a muscular New Zealand Syrah which was beaten into submission by the chilli heat. (As were the oysters . . . )

I can imagine it working with a lighter, fresher red though - the effect probably being a bit like adding shallot vinegar. In fact if you don't drink white wine maybe you should sprinkle a little finely chopped shallot on your oysters before sipping your red.

Apparently the pairing is gaining popularity in Parisien bistros at the moment so I'll have to try and remember to give it a go when I'm there next month!

If you found this post helpful and would like to support the website which is free to use it would be great if you'd make a donation towards its running costs or sign up to my regular Substack newsletter Eat This, Drink That for extra benefits.

CONTRIBUTE HERE