What wine goes with shellfish?
Pair with a dish
For the shellfish — a crisp white with salt in it
White
a dry white, served cold
- Chardonnay a white with some weight to itChablis a Chablis, lean and stony · Burgundy a white Burgundy with some weight
- Sauvignon Blanc a crisp, green-edged whiteSancerre a Sancerre, flinty and dry · Marlborough a Marlborough Sauvignon, loud and green
- Pinot Grigio a light, clean white
- Viognier a perfumed, full white
- Semillon a waxy white that ages well
- Albarino a white with salt in itRías Baixas an Albariño with the Atlantic in it
- Verdejo a crisp, herbal white
- Assyrtiko a dry white, taut and salineSantorini a Santorini white, volcanic and saline
- Vermentino a coastal, herby white
- Melon de Bourgogne a bone-dry white off its leesMuscadet a Muscadet, bone-dry and briny
- Godello a textured, mineral white
- Greco a firm, mineral white
- Emir a crisp Cappadocian white
- Vinho Verde a Vinho Verde, light and spritzy
Rosé
- Provence a pale Provence rosé, cold
Sparkling
something with bubbles in it
- Pinot Noir a sparkling with a red grape's weight
- Champagne something with bubbles and bread in it
Fortified
- Palomino a dry sherry, served cold
- Jerez a sherry, from fino to oloroso
Why these wines work with shellfish
Shellfish tastes of the sea, and the wines that suit it best taste as though they were made within sight of it: a crisp white with salt in it. Oysters, mussels, clams, prawns and crab are sweet, briny and delicate, so you want high acidity, little or no oak and a mineral, almost saline edge.
With oysters
Muscadet is the classic with oysters, bone-dry and briny after resting on its lees. Albariño from Rías Baixas, Assyrtiko from Santorini, Vermentino and Vinho Verde come from coastlines too, and that salinity shows in the glass. Chablis, lean and stony, is the textbook choice for a seafood platter, and Champagne with oysters is a cliché because it is right.
With prawns, mussels and clams
Sauvignon Blanc from Sancerre or Marlborough suits shellfish with herbs, garlic or a sharp dressing, and a dry, cold sherry is a remarkable match for prawns and anything fried in batter. Sparkling wine works across the board because its bubbles and acidity scrub the palate clean between mouthfuls.
With lobster, scallops and crab
Richer preparations change the picture. Lobster, scallops seared in butter or crab in a creamy sauce want more body, a white Burgundy, a Semillon or a perfumed Viognier, much as a buttery piece of fish does. Red wine is the one thing to keep away, since tannin and the iodine in shellfish together taste of metal.
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