Red Wine with Seafood

When we got into this business way back in 1976, white wines outsold reds three to one.  Maybe it was four to one.  Anyway, trying to sell reds was difficult.  Now, fifty years later, reds are what everyone wants and that is good.  They are, objectively, better than whites.  More breadth and richness, more developed structure, more character in every respect.

Regularly we hear from our red wine lovers that the food pairing rules really don't apply anymore; like that kind of quaint stuff should be relegated to a bygone time.  If a big California Cabernet is what I want with my dinner, no matter what it is, then that is what I will have.  And that mandate is perfectly fine.  We aren't old Europe.  We do things differently here.  And like I said, that's okay. 

Pinot Noir is the great red grape of the world.  So said Jim Sanders, my long passed fine wine mentor.  Jim was a French Burgundy expert and said amongst other things, "Cabernet Sauvignon opens up in the glass; Pinot noir actually i-m-p-r-o-v-e-s."  It's been at least twenty years since his passing so I think it's safe to say, that subject could be debated.

Recently a customer came in consulting his wine app which said he needed a Pinot Noir with his Asian seafood dish.  Generously, the app said either French Burgundy or Oregon pinot would be fine.  Upon hearing this I wanted to pull out my non-existent hair.  His Asian sauce sounded sweet and a dry burgundy would have been the culinary equivalent of fingernails scratching on the blackboard.  So we sold him the Oregon wine.  And Jim did cartwheels in his grave.  

The customer is alway right.

This post is not sour grapes.  There are reasons for choosing any food and wine combination and they are personal.  But here's the thing: There are wines that are intended to go with seafood.  While you may choose a red with your seafood, and that is perfectly fine if you do, you may also choose a white from, say, Italy, which you may notice on the map, is surrounded by water.

And just for the record, Roses go with anything.