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Importers of Fine Wines Since 1919 | Resources for the Trade |
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The Rules of the GameSugar and salt is a combination that works and works well. It is, after all, a representation of the American diet! We have naturally paired together… Potato chips (salt) and coke (sugar) So, if the dish is a tad salted, a wine with residual sugar will truly shine as its sidekick.
Red Wine with Fish
Naturally, the oilier the fish and the more tannic the wine, the worse the reaction. It has nothing to do with the color of the wine. An over-oaked chardonnay when paired with seafood, can give you a bad case of metal mouth. Conversely, a lightly tannic red such as Placido Primavera Sangiovese, can work perfectly with sea fare.
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“A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine.”
“Spicy foods can be a problem, but when served with a spicy or very fruity wine, the two meet their mates.”
“General rules to harmonize wine with food date to the days of ancient Greece and Rome. While rigid, specific rules regarding the serving of appropriate wines and foods were written in the 1500's and were followed for centuries, today's consumer drinks and eats what pleases the palate.”
All red wine contains tannin. Some red wines contain more than others. If you are intent on pairing red wine with fish…select a red wine light in tannins. Other techniques to help make the match are:
“There is not one right wine for any particular food. A well-made wine, no matter where it comes from, will enhance the appropriate food no matter what its ethnic origin.”
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Sugar and spice, (like everything nice), is a combination that does splendidly together. If you’ve ever scalded your tongue on a hot cup of coffee, you know that to alleviate the burn you need to dissolve a spoonful of sugar across your tongue. The same principle applies to spicy fare. If you are eating any dish with pepper and spice, a wine with residual sugar will cut the burn.
Tannin and fish oil represent one of the strongest chemical reactions in the food and wine pairing kingdom. Tannin is a bitter, astringent compound found in all red wines and in white wines that have spent time in wood. It combines chemically with fish oil, in the presence of alcohol and salt, to create a bitter, metallic taste on the palate. When tannin (in wine) and fish oil (in fish) come together, the wine ends up tasting like copper or aluminum foil and the fish tastes fishy.
Add salt and a lemon wedge (salt and acid together help to soften the tannin/fish oil clash)