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Something Fishy

Tue, 05/19/2009 - 5:32pm — The Wine Guy
saltwater gamefish

It's common to read, in wine books and magazines, that there are certain types of wine that are meant to pair with "seafood." Huh? I think there's something fishy about that kind of generalization. Sort of like the old canard about "red wine with red meat, white wine with fish." Phooey! My wine and food pairing philosophy, which you may know from one of my little table-side lessons, is: "Choose a wine you like, then pair it with food you like. You'll like it!"

I mean, look at all the different types of "seafood" we humans eat. Everything from eels and mussels to brook trout and swordfish. And that's not to mention octopus, squid, anchovies, lobster...you get the idea. Preparations of these beauties run from the raw (sushi, ceviche) to the extravagantly cooked (Bouillabaise, paella). At Back Bay Cafe we tend to limit our options to the fresh and local (shrimp, blue crab and fish that are caught in the Atlantic) and our preparations to the simple (grilled, boiled, pan fried) so that we can try the broadest wine style pairings. This week our Featured wines are some we've chosen that we find ourselves reaching for whenever we've got some fresh bounty of the sea.

We start with a classic "seafood wine" - Muscadet (MOOSE-cuh-day) from France's Loire Valley:

Le Vigneau Domaine de Guérande Muscadet Sèvre et Maine 2007 (Loire Valley, France)

Branger Terroir Les Gras Moutons Sur Lie Muscadet Sevre et Maine 2006 (Loire Valley, France)

"Le Vigneau" is the name of the first producer (it means "winkle" in French, "an edible marine gastropod"…a clue to its food partners). Domaine de Guérande is the estate where the grapes were grown and the wine was bottled. And "Muscadet Sèvre et Maine" is the Appellation Contrôlée that tells you that the grape is Muscadet and it's from the region between the Sèvre and Maine rivers, southeast of the city of Nantes. A quick look at your map will show you that this is the estuary where the long Loire River empties into the Atlantic Ocean. And that, my friends, is seafood country.

The Branger Terroir Les Gras Moutons Is from "The Land of the Fat Sheep."  I think it's a good name for it, because it's a little "fatter" than the Guerande, a characateristic that comes from its having been made "sur lie" - where it stays "on the lees" (the pieces of grape and yeast) for an extra period of time, building up some body.

Muscadet is a wine that is known worldwide as a classic accompaniment to oysters and other shellfish. You shouldn't pass another summer in Beaufort County, North Carolina without knowing about this wine and amazing all your friends.

The next white is an old favorite - Salmon Run Cold Brook White (Finger Lakes, NY).  This is a "proprietary blend", which means they don't tell you what's in it.  I think it's some combination of Chardonnay and Riesling, two of the signature white grapes of the Dr. Konstantin Frank winery that makes it.  It's just off-dry and very appealing with its fruity intensity, moderate acidity and smooth finish. If you think some "seafood whites" are a bit too cutting, try this one.  It goes real well when your seafood has a flaky texture or comes with a creamy sauce.

Another perennial favorite is Basa (Rueda, Spain).  Rueda is known for its signature white grape, Verdejo (vair-DAY-hoe), that makes crisp white wines like our popular Las Brisas.  Here the Verdejo makes up 50% of the blend and is joined by 40% Viura and 10% Sauvignon Blanc, a blend that gives it soft fruit in the middle of your mouth, followed by a crisp burst of acidity. Wine Enthusiast magazine gave it 89 Pts, and the reviewer wrote: “…you get a ton of steely citrus and mineral aromas and flavors adding up to endless refreshment possibilities. Spritzy, zesty and a perennial bargain among aromatic whites.” I’ll drink to that...especially if we're eating shrimp, crab or oysters.

Finally, in our white wine category, we're reprising what we have left of the Domaine de Granajolo Vermentinu 2006 (Corsica, France).

André Boucher reclaimed the 25 hectares (62 acres) of his Domaine de Granajolo from the wild Corsican maquis, the famous local bushland, in 1978. The vineyard he planted is located at the south end of the island and is cultivated according to the rules set by the International organic agricultural Fédération Nature et Decouverte. As a result, no fertilizers, no weed killers, and no insecticides are used.  The vines, planted on hills, grow in an extremely dry micro-climate purified by sea winds and are from traditional varieties, like this Vermentinu. Vermentinu is a grape that has been cultivated for thousands of years and probably originated in Greece and Turkey. This wine is marked by an intense bouquet of tropical fruits and finishes with a persistent aftertaste of almonds and apple. It is elegant with more complex seafood dishes like paella, but it plays well at any table by the sea.  After all, it's from an island.

Red Wine with Fish (If That's Your Wish)

From the beginning of this entry, I disavowed the notion that "seafood wines" have to be made with white grapes.  Some people just don't like white wines, and I'm always being asked to pair a good red with one of our Back Bay Cafe seafood dishes.  Well, here goes.

We begin with a transition from white to red - Susana Balbo's Crios Rosé of Malbec (Mendoza, Argentina).  You know how much I love dry rosés, and I'll drink them where you would usually go for a crisp white.  But I've chosen this one because it's really like a light red.  It has body and mouth feel, as well as a bit of dry structure that comes from tannin rather than acidity.  Don't let the pink color put you off.  This is a serious wine. Try it with crab cakes or salmon...or whatever strikes your summertime fancy.

We've been carrying the Goats Do Roam Red (Paarl, South Africa) practically since we opened the original Wine & Words.  Its light, spicy, fruity blend (legendarily chosen by the roaming goats of the vineyard) is perfect for beginning red wine drinkers who aren't ready for difficult tannins or full-bodied richness.  And that lightness makes it perfect as a red to go with seafood.  It's got such a variety of notes from the blending that it likes to go with anything smoky and grilled, or battered and fried, or chilled and sauced.  It can even be lightly chilled itself for a refreshing patio wine to wash down the fruits of your latest trip to the dock.

Finally, we turn to a red wine that has become known as a classic pairing for grilled salmon...Pinot Noir.  Namely the Salmon Run (appropriate name) Pinot Noir (Finger Lakes, NY).  Pinot Noir has become so popular because of its food pairing ability.  This one, because it is particularly light in body without losing any of the rich Pinot taste, is a wonderfully suitable companion to grilled seafood, especially the rich and fatty texture of a slab of Atlantic salmon.

So that's our line-up for this week.  I hope you'll find a favorite and enjoy it all summer with fresh catches from our watery neighborhood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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