The Best Wine To Use When Making Sauce For Fish
There are seemingly many rules when it comes to pairing wine with fish. From the type to serve with fish to the kind you use when preparing a fish dish, wine can make or break the overall flavor. But with a little guidance and knowledge of what you personally like, you can get it right every time. Fortunately, Roberta Muir, the food and wine expert behind Be Inspired Food-Wine-Travel, has an easy tip to help you choose the best wine for the sauce of a fish dish.
"You must cook with a wine you're prepared to drink, so often the best wine to cook with is whatever white wine you're drinking — the bottle's already open anyway," Muir says. "If you happen to be drinking an expensive wine, perhaps you don't want to splash any of it into the pan, so just use a decent dry white wine such as unoaked chardonnay, pinot grigio, or riesling." These recommendations are based on more than your personal preference, though.
Wine flavor is more impactful in a mild fish dish
Choosing a wine you like and that isn't compromised can prevent the sauce from overpowering the dish. "Don't cook with faulty wine or the bad flavors will carry through into the dish," Roberta Muir explains. When you use a wine you don't like in a sauce that will be spooned over fish — especially mild fish, the chances are greater that you'll notice the flavors you don't like.
While some types of fish are mild and light, others are heavier with a fattier flavor, which calls for a different type of wine. Flakey white fish works well with lighter, crisper wines such as those Muir suggests. Stronger, fattier fish is better suited to high-acid wines which cut through the fat. Therefore, it's important to consider what kind of fish you're cooking when you're preparing a sauce to pair with fish. Nonetheless, wine is the secret to the best sauces. So, don't be afraid to add it in — but do avoid pairing high-tannin red wines with mackerel or herring to prevent an off aftertaste.
For ideas of how to use wine in fish sauces, you could start with our simple fish piccata recipe, which uses a splash of white wine to deglaze the pan, giving a richer base to the sauce before adding lemony flavor. Or give this delicious Parisian sauce that pairs beautifully with fish a go, which combines fish stock with white wine. Or go for the buttery French option beurre blanc, which also pairs well with fish.