How to Pair Wine With Seafood

In this How to Pair Wine With Seafood Guide, we show you exactly what wine to pair with different types of seafood.

Seafood is an excellent choice for special occasions, but a bad wine order can ruin even the most enthralling culinary experience. You don’t want to sit at the table wondering if that expensive bottle actually makes your meal better or if it will mask those subtle ocean flavors you paid good money for. 

This is why knowing which wine goes best with different types of fish or lobster can make all the difference. When you discover the perfect wine and seafood pairing, you’ll be delighted with how much they elevate the flavors of each other.

So let’s dive in. 

Which Wine Pairs Best with Seafood?

To answer it right away: White Wines generally pair the best with seafood. That being said, there’s definitely more to the story. 

Red wines and chardonnay can also work in some cases. It all depends on what kind of seafood you are choosing and your personal preferences. 

As a rule of thumb, it’s best to select your seafood dishes first, and then opt for a matching wine. In most cases, it’s best to not do it the other way around.

Here are some of our time-tested favorites with seafood that you can’t go wrong with: 

Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc is a no-brainer pick with most seafood. It’s basically a perfect wingman and matches well with most types of flavors.

The punchy acidity pierces decadent, buttery sauces while pairing with the ocean fare’s natural salinity. The citrus notes in the Sauvignon Blanc also echo the lemon you would squeeze over fresh fish.

Goes best with: Oysters, mussels, white fish on the grill, and any dish that features herbs such as dill or parsley. 

Pinot Grigio/Pinot Gris

Think of this wine as your extrovert friend; it goes well with almost everyone (seafood in this case)! 

Pinot Grigio is light and clean and complements those delicate flavors splendidly. With its light body, subtle fruit flavors, and low acidity, this wine gives the delicate flavors of fish a spotlight without stealing the show. Its low acidity also provides just the right amount of lift to keep your palate active.

Goes well with: Raw preparations like sashimi, light fish dishes, calamari, and shellfish.

Chardonnay

There are two Chardonnays that can be great with lighter fish or a rich seafood preparation: 

• The unoaked and fresh 
• The rich, buttery oak-aged Chardonnay

Both types of Chardonnay come with bright acidity and pure fruit flavors that do not overpower your seafood. 

Oaked Chardonnay, with its rich texture and notes of vanilla from oak aging, pairs beautifully with buttery seafood. The oak treatment adds complexity and weight, giving the wine enough substance to complement elaborate seafood dishes while maintaining its elegance.

Goes well with: Lobster with butter sauce, creamy seafood pasta, grilled salmon, or that impressive whole snapper.

Albariño

It’s a Spanish gem that blends great with seafood. The mineral notes are reminiscent of the sea, and the acidity helps cleanse your palate in between bites.

Albariño, a grape native to Spanish coastal regions, captures the essence of salty sea air and coastal humidity in every glass. The wine’s signature salinity reflects the ocean, with stone fruit flavors providing just the right amount of sweetness to offset seafood’s inherent brininess. It has more presence than lighter whites but does not dominate delicate flavors.

Goes well with: Grilled octopus, paella, clams, and any seafood with Spanish or Portuguese sauces.

When Can I Opt for Red Wine?

While white wine makes for the more obvious pairing with most seafood, red wine has a seat at the table too. 

Some of them actually complement some seafood preparations even better. For instance, light reds such as Pinot Noir go great with salmon or tuna when grilled or baked with herbs.

The key is matching the weight of the wine to the weight of the dish. Delicate fish calls for delicate wine, while meaty fish like tuna can handle more robust pairings.

Type of Wine	Best Seafood Matches
Crisp Whites (Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio)	Oysters, mussels, white fish, sashimi
Rich Whites (Oaked Chardonnay, White Burgundy)	Lobster, crab, creamy seafood dishes
Light Reds (Pinot Noir, Beaujolais)	Salmon, tuna, grilled fish with herbs
Rosé Wine	Shellfish, Mediterranean seafood, summer dishes
Sparkling Wine	Raw oysters, caviar, fried seafood

Things to Remember When Pairing Wine With Seafood

When deciding the right wine option for your seafood choice, take the following into consideration:

• Temperature: White should be well-chilled (in the 45-50°F range) to preserve its crisp freshness that pairs so well with seafood.
• The sauce: A heavy cream sauce demands a wine with enough body to cut through the richness, while a simple lemon preparation requires something clean and bright.
• Freshness of the Seafood: The older your seafood, the more fragile your wine choice should be. You want to get that ocean flavor, not cover it up.
• Your Palate: The rules are there to guide you, not imprison you. If that light red you like with your grilled shrimp, then so be it!
• Regional Pairings: There’s wisdom in traditional combinations. They are timeless for a reason! You can never go wrong when you pair oysters with champagne from France, octopus with a fresh Albariño from Spain, other seafood with a crisp white Pinot Grigio from Italy.
• The cooking technique: Bold wines can stand up to grilled seafood but not to poached fish. That char and smoke flavor wants a brawnier partner.

Pro Tip: Remember, there are no hard and fast rules to anything. Even if a pairing seems borderline blasphemous, don’t overthink it. The best pairing is one you favor. Use this as a starting point and then play and decide what you like best.

Conclusion

Pairing wine with seafood shouldn’t be daunting. When in doubt, begin with the classics: crisp white wine with delicate fish, heartier preparations with richer whites. From here, you can allow yourself to be led by your palate into increasingly adventurous pairings.

If you’d still rather let professionals do the heavy lifting for you, come see us for a wonderful evening at Blossom Steakhouse in Sanur, Bali. We are a team of culinary enthusiasts who understand both seafood and wine, and love to share our knowledge with our guests. Our wine selection is curated with seafood in mind, so you can’t go wrong with any pick anyway. 

We hope to see you there!