WHICH WINES TO DRINK WITH SEAFOOD?

The festive season is just around the corner, and with it comes a host of festive meals with friends and family. If you're planning to serve seafood, we're here to help you choose the wines that will go perfectly with it. 

It all depends on the seafood! 

Generally speaking, to accompany your platter, you'll need a dry, fairly aromatic white wine with a long finish. 

However, if you eat "noble" shellfish, you can pair them with finer, more delicate whites. 

 

• With a basket of oysters.

Several wines can accompany this mollusk, but the most important is to choose a white with a good texture. At all costs, avoid sweet whites, preferring straight, taut whites with a citrus finish. 

For a change from our good old muscadet sur lie, opt for sauvignon-based Loire whites such as Sancerre, Menetou Salon or Bordeaux Graves. 

> Sancerre 2018 les Romains - Domaine Vacheron

The first estate to obtain Biodynamic certification in 2006, the property is known for its parcel-based cuvées. This cuvée, whose soils are dominated by flint, is powerful, fresh and highly complex.

 

• With a mixed seafood platter. 

If you choose to serve a mixed seafood platter, with whelks, shrimps, crab claws etc... The previous wine might be suitable, but you can also choose a more consensual wine, a little finer but with a lemony finish that will give liveliness on the finish. 

> Pouilly Fuissé 2015 - Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon

The Pouilly Fuissé appellation is an AOC in southern Burgundy, in the Mâconais region. 

It is made from a single grape variety, Chardonnay. This cuvée belongs to Dominique Lafon, a key figure in Burgundy. With its white fruit and stone fruit flavors, its roundness on the palate will suit everyone. 

 

• With crab or lobster.

Discretion and finesse are the order of the day. Crab and lobster are very fine, refined dishes. Best served with a complex white wine, fruity without being too dry. 

> Condrieu Les Terrasses du Palat 2018 - François Villard

Condrieu is a white wine from the northern Rhône Valley, made exclusively from Viognier. This grape brings notes of white and exotic fruits, with a beautiful minerality. The slightly bitter finish will enhance the taste of your shellfish.

 

Visit Bordeaux wines are among the most sought-after in the world, reaching a large proportion of wine drinkers, whether on the menus of Michelin-starred restaurants or as an "everyday wine" at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Everyman. But it's above all Bordeaux red wines that have the lion's share, as white wines are very rarely associated with a meal, and the consumption of sweet wines such as Sauternes is on the decline. Discover today wine pairings of Bordeaux with shellfish and fish. Your guide to wine and seafood pairings can be found on the Comptoir des Millésimes website. online sales of grands crus and rare wines.

 

> Find all our fine Bordeaux wines

WHICH WINES TO DRINK WITH SHELLFISH?

 

Visit Graves white wines are ideal for pairing with shellfish. The wine's freshness, white fruit and citrus aromas will bring balance to fatty shellfish such as gambas or lobster. If, however, you're looking for a seafood pairing, the white wines of the Blayais region are ideal, as they are generally made from Colombard or Sauvignon, the hallmarks of very dry white wines.

 

WHAT TO DRINK WITH FISH

This time, the variety of fish will be important in the choice of wine to accompany it.
For white-fleshed fish, you'll need to choose a fine, delicate white where minerality takes precedence, as too much fruit can spoil the fish.
River fish, often richer in flavor, will need a denser white.
A Pessac-Léognan that has undergone bâtonnage (a winemaker's manipulation that consists of stirring the wine with its lees to give it substance and fruit) will have this extra substance.
If you decide to serve a red wine with fish, it's important, like charcuterie, that it's tannin-free. For a Bordeaux, an old vintage will have melted tannins. Go for the right bank of the Dordogne (Pomerol, Saint-Émilion).

 

> All our food and wine pairing guides