Red wine and fish? The answer is “yes, with conditions…”!

If you are trying to choose a red wine to go with your fish entrée this evening there are two main things to consider: the sauce and the type of fish! The obvious red wine that most people think of to pair with fish is a Pinot Noir. The slam dunk fish options with Pinot Noir are salmon and tuna! Both of these fish have a good amount of density and natural oil to be able to stand up to a red wine. Also, the acidity that is associated with Pinot Noirs will balance out the oil and richness of these two types of fish. The more density or oil content the fish has and the richer the sauce is, the more you may be able to choose a heartier red wine, like a merlot or a zinfandel. Try to avoid sauces that are white wine or vinegar based. A white wine sauce goes best with a white wine (pretty obvious) and vinegar is always difficult to pair with wine because when put together they tend to clash- like oil and water!

These are simply suggestions to help you pair different red wines with different types of fish. However, if someone wants to drink a heavy Cabernet Sauvignon with lobster, who am I to judge? Cheers to you, Brad Wermager