The Absolute Best Wine Pairing For Clam Chowder

If you're craving something comforting and hearty, you can try making our creamy New England clam chowder recipe. Then, to cut through the richness and all the delicious flavors from the sea, pair the homemade soup with a good wine. But before you reach for a bottle of red, note that there's another wine that's the absolute best pairing for clam chowder.  "Champagne or another sparkling wine would have the perfect amount of acidity to cut through the creaminess of the soup, and the bubbles also act as palate cleansers," stated Lexi Stephens, a wine educator and the founder of Lexi's Wine List. 

There are many types of champagne but in essence, it is a sparkling white wine, and white wines are often paired with seafood dishes. Thus, Stephens' suggestion makes perfect sense. Seafood, like clams and fish, are lighter proteins with often a fishier taste that the higher acidity in white wines nullifies. Acidity, like a squirt of lemon juice, balances seafood well, masking fishy flavors, while brightening other tasting notes like sweetness and umami. This is the reason why a squirt of lemon juice makes all the difference in your fried fish dishes. Since we're not adding lemon to clam chowder, the acidity we add is through pairing the dish with champagne or another sparkling wine.

What type of champagne should you pick to pair with clam chowder? And does it have to be an expensive bottle? The answer to the latter question is no. We've tried and ranked 12 inexpensive bottles of champagne, and that shows how you don't need to break the bank when choosing the perfect wine to pair with homemade clam chowder. You can simply head to Costco and grab a bottle of Kirkland Signature Prosecco, which ranked No. 1 on our list. This Prosecco is balanced in terms of sweetness and acidity and has plenty of bubbles to cleanse your palate between spoonfuls of hearty clam chowder. 

If you're making chowder with another seafood, like our delicious crab and corn chowder recipe, note that champagne or another sparkling wine is still the best pairing. You can also level up the flavor of your seafood chowder by adding champagne or white wine to the pot as you're cooking up the soup. This way, all the flavors will harmonize when you're eating the chowder while also paired with the spirit you cooked it with.