Sparkling and fish

Crisp fried fish, a pearly fillet, a cream sauce: with sparkling wine, the texture on the plate guides your choice first. Frying fat calls for a young wine with lively bubbles. The style, Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs or rosé, then follows the character of the fish. A rich sauce calls for a more mature wine.

Fried Fish, Fritters and Breaded Fillets: A Young, Lively Wine

Frying wraps fish in a hot, oily crust, and so do the breadcrumbs on a breaded fillet. So pick a young sparkling wine. In Champagne, the youngest wines are credited with steady, persistent bubbles, with notes of citrus, flowers and white fruit. That liveliness balances the rich crust.

Crémant or non-vintage Champagne works just as well with a plate of fried smelts as with fish and chips or fish fritters served as an appetizer. With mayonnaise or tartar sauce, the bubbles lighten the sauce too. Save older wines, with softer bubbles, for cooked dishes.

Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs or Rosé: From Delicate Fillets to Bolder Dishes

Made only from white grapes, Blanc de Blancs Champagne often has the most taut, focused bubbles. Keep it for thin white fillets, steamed or pan-fried, that a broader wine would overpower.

Blanc de Noirs Champagne comes from black grapes, Pinot Noir or Meunier, pressed gently to keep the juice clear. Fuller in body, it stands up to firm-fleshed fish and to fish served with mushrooms or a white wine sauce.

Rosé Champagne often adds a touch of red fruit. Serve it with oily fish, which have a stronger flavor, or with fish seared on a griddle and served with grilled peppers.

Roasted, Gratin or Cream-Sauced Fish: A More Mature Wine

Fish roasted, baked as a gratin or covered in cream has more richness than fried fish. It calls for a more mature wine, such as vintage Champagne, made from the grapes of a single year. It must age at least 36 months between bottling for the second fermentation and release, versus 15 months for non-vintage Champagne.

Non-vintage Champagne can blend wines from several harvests: its reserve wines, from earlier vintages, bring riper notes. It remains a good choice for poached fish or a light gratin. For a long-simmered dish, such as a fish blanquette or waterzooi, open the vintage bottle instead.

Champagne Sauce, Taramasalata, Curry: More Ways to Pair Bubbles and Fish

Which Champagne goes with fish cooked in Champagne?

With fish cooked in Champagne, serve the same wine you used in the sauce, or a Champagne in the same style. The sauce and the glass then share the same aromas. Choose a Brut or Extra Brut over a Demi-Sec: as the sauce reduces, it concentrates the wine’s sugar.

Which sparkling wine goes with fish rillettes or taramasalata as an appetizer?

With fish rillettes or taramasalata as an appetizer, serve a young, lively sparkling wine, such as Crémant or a non-vintage Blanc de Blancs Champagne. Its bubbles refresh your palate after these rich, salty spreads. Save more mature wines for the main course.

Which sparkling wine works with spiced or curried fish?

For spiced or curried fish, choose a sparkling wine with plenty of fruit, such as rosé Champagne or a Blanc de Noirs. Their body and fruit hold up to the spices. Avoid very mature wines: their candied fruit and toasty notes get lost under the curry.

Where can you buy sparkling wine for fish direct from the winemaker?

You can buy sparkling wine for fish direct from the winemaker on Avenue des Vins. Each order is prepared and sent by the producer, not from a warehouse.

See also: White wines and fish - Rosé wines and fish - Red wines and fish