Posted on February 23rd, 2024 by Ronel
A typical fish and chips shop offers the choice of salt, vinegar or curry sauce, but pairing fresh seafood with wines and sauces opens exciting new possibilities. In practice, it is this subtle blending of aromas and flavours that sets an Ocean Basket seafood restaurant apart from the average high street chip shop. This unique touch can transform a plate of fish and chips into a gourmet dining experience.
When people think of haute cuisine, it is usually France with its thousands of hectares of vineyards that springs to mind. However, the southernmost tip of Africa and the Aegean Sea are renowned for their wines and expertise in preparing irresistible seafood dishes, and it is the combination of mouthwatering Greek cuisine and South African hospitality and the art of blending seafood dishes with carefully chosen wines and sauces that are the hallmarks of every Ocean Basket restaurant.
The best choice of wine depends on two factors: the nature of the seafood and any sauce served with it or in which it has been cooked.
When selecting an appropriate wine to complement a meal, the average diner will stick with the somewhat dated premise of white with fish and red with meat. In practice, many dishes go well with wines of either colour. The challenge is to combine them in a manner that enables them to enhance each other.
The delicate flavours of light-tasting fish like cod and haddock will be lost if accompanied by a full-bodied red like Cabernet Sauvignon. Instead, they are best eaten with an equally subtle-tasting white wine like Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. However, if red wine is your preferred choice, it will be best to go for something light like Pinot Noir. In a nutshell, strong-tasting seafood needs to be balanced with a full-bodied wine, while the more subtle varieties need something more delicate.
The sauces and spices used in the preparation of seafood dishes can profoundly influence their final taste and will, therefore, affect the choice of a suitable wine with which to pair them. A simple citrus-based sauce is a favourite with many seafood fans. Because lemon juice is rich in citric acid, it is best to pair it with a wine that has a high acidity level, like Chenin Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc.
Creamy sauces are a popular accompaniment to seafood. Although still citrus-based, a creamy lemon butter sauce would pair better with a more full-bodied white, like Chardonnay. Tomato-based sauces will need a light-bodied red wine like Pinot Noir.
Cajun spiced calamari is an Ocean Basket speciality, which, due to its more robust flavour, is best enjoyed with something sweet like a Riesling. We do our best when pairing fresh seafood with wines and sauces during the preparation. Hopefully, this guide will prove helpful when you are deciding which wines will go best with your meal.
We’ve discussed pairing fresh seafood with wines and sauces, and now it’s time to sample the results. Follow this link to book a table at our Bromley or Kingston upon Thames restaurant and enjoy a quality Mediterranean seafood meal you will never forget.
