Best Wine with Fish


Best Wine with Fish
Learning what wines pair best with your favorite fish dishes will allow you to enhance your culinary experience. Learn about pairing wine with the different kinds of fish, as well as pairing with popular fish dish flavors.
Types of Fish and Wine Pairings
One of the first things you hear about food and wine pairing is that fish should go with white wine. While that is pretty general, most fish and how they are prepared are excellent pairings for white wine. As a general rule, that is good advice. Here is how you narrow down your wine pairings to go with the exact type of fish you are eating.
Delicate Light Fish: Trout, arctic char, catfish, cod
Medium-Firm Fish- Seabass, lingcod, rockfish
Meaty Firm Fish- Salmon, tuna, swordfish
Intensely Flavored Fish- Herring, sardine
Delicate Light Fish
Delicate fish have light and flaky white meat and are typically seasoned and made to be a light dish.
Catfish, cod, flounder, perch, tilapia, haddock, sole.
Wine Pairings
Acidic and light white wines pair well with delicate light fish
- Sparkling Wine (Prosecco)
- Albarino (Rias Baixas, Spain)
- Grunder Veltliner (Reserve DAC from Austria)
- Pinot Gris (Fruity style from the United States or Australia)
- Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, New Zealand)
- Soave (New vintage from Veneto, Italy)
- Vermentino (Sardinia, Italy)
- Chardonnay (unoaked from Chablis)
- Vinho Verde (Portugal)
Medium-Firm Fish
Medium to firm fish has a bit more ‘oomph’ to them. They often are served in fish tacos and ethnic dishes or seen with heavier sauces than the light flaky fish.
Seabass, lingcod, rockfish, halibut, trout, arctic char, sablefish, hake
Wine Pairings
Medium to firm fish pair well with acidic white wines that have a light to medium body and mouthfeel.
- Chenin Blanc (South Africa)
- Albarino (Vinho Verde, Spain)
- Assyrtiko (Macedonia, Greece)
- Sparkling Wine (Cava from Spain)
- Melon (Muscadet, France)
- Gargenega (Soave, Sicily, Italy)
- Friulano (Veneto, Italy)
- Colombard (South Africa)
Meaty Firm Fish
Thick and flaky fish with a firm texture. This is the most versatile fish. Richer white wines (and even some roses and light reds, depending on the flavor of the dish) go well with meaty firm fish.
Salmon (my favorite when done on cedar grilling planks!), tuna, swordfish, shark
Wine Pairings
- Viura (Rioja, Spain)
- Vinho Verde (Portugal)
- Unoaked Chardonnay (California, USA)
- Rose of Pinot Noir (Washington State, USA)
- Falanghina (Campania, Italy)
- Sparkling Wine (Franciacorta from Italy)
- Grenache Blanc (Rhone Valley, France)
- Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA)
- Rose of Sangiovese (Washington State, USA)
- Picpoul (Languedoc, France)
Intensely Flavored Fish
Often canned, these fish are salty, fishy and strong. While these wines pair well with the fish by themselves, they are often paired with a wide variety of flavors and foods because they are strongly flavored. Make sure to pair these fish by the overall flavor of the dish.
Anchovies, mackerel, herring, sardines.
Wine Pairings
- Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA)
- Rose of Pinot Noir (Washington State, USA)
- Gamay (Beaujolais, France)
- Chardonnay (Burgundy, France)
- Semillon (Bordeaux, France)
- Viognier (Barossa Valley, Australia)
- Dry Riesling (Alsace, France)
- Chenin Blanc (Loire Valley, France
Fish Preparation Wine Pairings
While the general rule is to pair fish with white wine, let’s narrow it down some. The best rule to follow for all wine pairing is to pair to the flavor of the dish and focus less on what the meat is. There are such a wide variety of fish, flavors of dishes, and wines; so getting the right fish and wine pairing can really change your experience. Make sure you are using the right type of white wine glasses.
Flavors of Dishes
Raw Fish- Sushi and sashimi.
Smoked Fish- Rich meaty smoked fish, lox
Creamy Sauces- Cream or cheese sauces
Spicy- Curries, chili, pepper, international cuisine
Sweet Sauce- Mango chutney, teriyaki, sweet & sour sauce
Citrus/Acidic- Lemon, vinegar
Raw Fish
Tuna and salmon are the most common raw fish items you will find. Try pairing with a bone dry sparkling or white wine. It does well with a meaty fish as well as the sweet dipping sauces.
Smoked Fish
Yay! A fish dish that pairs well with roses and light reds. This is a great dish for a Beaujolais Nouveau or Rose of Pinot Noir. If you prefer white wine, try pairing smoked fish with a light and acidic white, like Sauvignon Blanc.
Cream and Cheese Sauces
Creamy pasta and fish dishes are heavy and in need of an acidic dry white. Try an unoaked Chardonnay or Albarino, they will cut through the fat of the dish and pair well with the herbs.
Spicy Dishes
For those who all things spicy and foreign, whip out a bottle of off-dry or sweet white wine for curries, pepper, and other hot fish dishes. Riesling and Gewurztraminer pair well with spicy fish dishes.
Sweet Sauce
Mango chutney, sweet and sour sauce, and teriyaki need to be paired with a wine that is a little bit sweeter than the dish. An off-dry Riesling or sweet sparkling wine will pair well.
Citrus/Acidic
Sometimes less is more and the best way to prepare fish is to simply squeeze some lemon on it. For those who like plain and simple, pair your fish with a Sauvignon Blanc or Verdejo.
What is your favorite fish dish? Have you ever tried pairing fish with red wine or rose?
Need some new glassware to complete your salmon dinner? Here are some of our favorite white wine glasses.