Pairing: Red & Fish?

Niles Crane is convinced he’s got a case of the munchies in one Frasier episode - and he feels he’s doing something radical by pairing “Chilean sea bass with this aggressive Zinfandel!” - he’s right, of course.  You don’t want to pair a wine with a food it might overpower.  But let’s face it - there are few really hard rules in food and wine pairing, and believe me when I say it’s ok to pair some heavier whites with meat dishes and some lighter reds with fish dishes.  (I’m quite open minded with lots of pairings - just don’t try to convince me to drink brut Champagne with cake or chocolate - it’s not romantic, it’s disgusting.)

I’ve had red Burgundies with fish lots of times and it’s often a good pairing (salmon really loves Pinot Noir!), and I’ve done lighter style Tuscan reds with fish as well.  A good Beaujolais (and I mean Villages or Cru) pairs nicely with fish dishes, and of course you can do most lighter style reds with fish - and keep this in mind - it’s especially important to me when applying the idea to lighter style, bright acidity reds, but in general it’s a good idea to get a slight chill on your reds.  No, I don’t suggest serving it as chilled as a while, but Americans tend to drink our reds at room temperature, as opposed to cellar temperature.  My suggestion then?  Put your bottle of red in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes before opening it - trust me, it’ll taste and feel better.  And if it’s got bright acidity with some tart red fruit characteristics, you’ll really want to get that little chill on it, so it won’t have that “bite” to it.

Anyway, most times I drink red.  I do love a good white, especially those from Burgundy, Alsace, and Germany - but oftentimes it’s red that satisfies me.  So recently, I wanted fish but wanted a red that night too, and I was alone cooking that night, so I wasn’t about to open 2 bottles.  For my dinner, I went with a gorgeous piece of sashimi grade tuna, and Asian noodles in a sauce of rice vinegar, soy sauce, lime juice, and wildflower honey, and sesame seeds, carrots, and scallions.  You’re probably thinking, ok, where’s the Riesling and Gewurztraminer?  On most days, I’d be thinking the same thing. But when I crave red, I crave red, and there’s nothing I can do about it.  The red I chose was a Zweigelt.  Zweigelt, you ask?  Zwhat’s that?  Well, it’s a fruity light-to-medium-style red from Austria. Austria makes wine, you ask?  YES.  And I love Austrian wine!  In fact, in less than 2 weeks, I’m attending a Guild of Sommeliers master class on Austrian wine, and I’ll be sure to tell you all about it on my other blog, Champagne Taste.  Anyway, the Zweigelt is a cool thing and it’s good with fish dishes and other light, subtly flavored culinary concoctions.  I find that Austrian wines are very expressive, which is often the case with grapes grown in a cooler climate wine region - the grapes are able to take on the characteristics of the terroir - the soil, air, etc., and then express them to the drinker, uninhibited by other factors like excessive heat, excessive sunlight (excessive sugar and alcohol levels, etc.) - and we can learn more about the characteristics of the wine region that way!  Zweigelt is often a lot less expensive than other Austrian wines like the red Blaufrankisch and some whites including Gruner and Roter Veltliner and Riesling.  And plus, like other Austrian grapes, Zweigelt is fun to say.  It’s got mostly soft red fruit characteristics and a slightly funky, earthy nose, and a clean feel (usually) - so it’s a great red for chilling a bit and pairing with fish.  How did my pairing turn out?  FANTASTIC.

So no aggressive Zinfandels with fish, ok?  But the lighter reds - go for it.