Always Choose A Dry White Wine When Cooking With Mussels

We'd say that mussels and wine go together like sugar and spice, but really, there should never be sweetness involved. A dry white should always be the bottle of choice; the fruit notes and acidity are a match made in heaven with the saltiness of mussels. Mismatched pairings are one of the biggest mistakes to avoid when cooking mussels, so narrow that criteria down further. Tasting Table caught up with Roberta Muir of Be Inspired to dig deeper. "Most mussel dishes call for a dry white wine such as an unoaked chardonnay, pinot grigio, or riesling," She explains, "Any dry white wine without a particularly dominant flavor will work well." 

Why non-dominant? Well, alcohol burns off when it is heated, meaning the permanent qualities a bottle imparts on a dish are its core flavor notes. Mussels pair best with brighter wines, so the last thing you want is an imbalance. An unoaked white wine is more crisp-tasting and fruit-forward. However, when oaked, any fruity undertones are likely muffled. Experts recommend dry wine to start with because of its crispness, which effectively balances mussels' natural sweetness and salinity. It's important that you don't lose that quality by choosing an oaked bottle. Sticking to non-dominant wines is one of the best tips you need when cooking with mussels.

Not every bottle of wine you select is going to be a hit. You might not have noticed, but Muir specifically highlighted a dry white wine — not a cooking wine. It's easy to be disillusioned into purchasing a bottle advertised as perfect for your desired use. However, there's a subpar stereotype about cooking wines, and we're here to tell you it's accurate. "The best wine for cooking is always one you're prepared to drink – if it's not good enough to drink, it's not good enough to cook with," Muir explains. While technically edible, cooking wines are highly alcoholic and salty: Producers ram them with preservatives and intense tastes to withstand the burn-off process. The result is a less-than-pleasing taste when sampling straight from a glass. Forget scanning these labels; standard bottles make the best white wines for cooking.

Muir's Instagram is an aesthetic ode to her open mind, but she stands steadfast in her attitude toward quality bottles. She also highlights the importance of excluding anything spoiled (or generally lackluster) too: "It doesn't need to be top-shelf – but if it's a faulty wine, the flavors will carry through into the dish." Once you select your dry white, inspect the cork or cap for seepage and note any suspicious color variations or sediment. Nobody wants to add poor wine to their mussels, no matter how much it appears to be a match on paper.