It’s a bummer for a Chardonnay fan when their favourite white is ruined by the food it’s served with. The wine tastes bitter, alcoholic lemon water one minute and sweet fruit and round, harmonious flavours the next. Some white varieties are adaptable at the table and go well with a variety of dishes, so I always made sure that the liquor store near me has all the varieties I need. A white wine, such as Chardonnay, is ideal for a seafood meal. The wine’s bright acidity and balanced, juicy texture nicely complement the grits’ creaminess and the richness of the seafood.
When your pairing is off, the taste of the dish and wine tastes like sharp, alcoholic lemon water one minute then sweet fruit and round, harmonic notes the next. Some white types are adaptable at the table and complement a wide range of cuisines.
However, spicy dishes can readily overpower Chardonnay’s delicate nature. It’s completely lost when paired with the flavour equivalent of a loud action movie. What you want are quiet flavours—mild, bottled and jarred packaged goods that are not too spicy, not too pungent and not too acidic. Chardonnay goes well with fish and seafood. Chardonnay complements sushi and shellfish such as langoustines, clams, and mussels. It also goes well with flaky white fish.
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Food Pairings with Chardonnay
Looking for food pairing ideas with Chardonnay? It’s yet another thing to say that Chardonnay goes well with chicken or fish, but that advice is so ambiguous that it’s nearly useless. The way the food is prepared makes a significant difference in the pairing’s success. What kinds of seasonings and sauces are included? Is the food grilled, roasted, sautéed, or poached? Every aspect of a dish can influence how well it pairs with wine.
Here’s a collection of our “biggest hits” to get you started on your next meal. Take a page from the sommelier’s playbook and match the style of the wine you’re drinking with the dish to take your Chardonnay food pairing to the next level. First, consider which foods pair well with Chardonnay and which you want to avoid.
Shellfish brown-butter Sauce:
It’s all in the sauce when it comes to seafood. Shellfish are praised for their soft meat, which can absorb the flavours of whatever spices or sauces are served with them, what if we add brown-butter sauce with fish because you know what! Everything tastes better with butter, that golden treasure. Brown butter is even better than regular butter: simply melt it and simmer it over low heat until the milk particles turn brown and caramelised. I remember the time when I used to try all kinds of new things when I lived near a liquor store; I still remember how much shopping I did there every weekend.
Wine Match: Chardonnay, It is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine.
Shrimp and grits:
We have many nationally renowned restaurants, as well as a culture of delicious down-home cooking, the most well-known of which is probably shrimp and grits!
Later I decided that it was time to enjoy the benefits of southern essentials, so I decided to cook, I bought fresh peppers, local stone-ground grits, onions, garlic, and lemons, and on the way back, I stopped at my favourite seafood market and bought one pound of raw shrimp that was peeled and deveined. This dish pairs well with a white wine, such as Sonoma Coast Chardonnay. The wine’s fresh citric acid and aligned, juicy texture perfectly complement the creaminess of the grits and the richness of the shrimp.
Wine Match: Chalk Hill Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2017, delivers concentrated flavours of lemon oil and orange zest with hints of toasted marshmallow.
Sole Meunière:
Sole Meunière also known as fish with brown butter sauce, was one of my favourite dishes. The classic dish that Julia Child adored couldn’t be simpler to prepare, but it tastes like a total absolution. The exterior’s crispness is light and heavenly. The fragile results you’ll get from making this don’t feel like a traditional fried fish recipe to me. Then you make a simple and yet incredibly flavorful brown butter sauce with lemon and parsley. Despite its simplicity, this dish is jam-packed with flavour.
Wine Match: Chardonnay 2012
Mini Lobster Pot Pie:
I had no idea lobster was considered a delicacy, something most of the country (and the world) couldn’t get for a reasonable price any day of the year! This recipe is the ideal solution. It only takes a small amount of lobster meat, which you can freeze ahead of time! The rich lobster is a natural pairing with one of Del Mesa Liquor exquisite Chardonnays.
Wine Match: Chardonnay, It is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine.
Nothing beats putting skin in the game, particularly when it’s seared salmon skin with a top-tier wine pairing. When I think of crispy skinned salmon, I imagine heat-kissed flesh that tastes and almost melts like butter. The best cuts of salmon are usually reserved for this type of service. There’s no point in skimping on the wine if no one is skimping on the cut of fish. With the Chardonnay, you can keep the match running full.
Greek Sweet Potato Fries – Buttery
Sweet potatoes that have been roasted concentrate their sweetness and caramelise their natural sugars, making them an excellent match for a toasted, mature Chardonnay. This combo is a fantastic way to start a fall or winter meal. Serve the fries with plenty of napkins as a finger snack.
Wine match: La Crema Russian River Chardonnay
You may go for a buttery Chardonnay, but try to avoid the warmer climate Chardonnays, as a cooler climate Chardonnay will provide more zest to your plate and help to tie the flavours of the dish together. If Chardonnay isn’t your thing, any full-bodied dry white—or, of course, a great bottle of sparkling wine—will do nicely with a fish pie.
Wine with seafood is a difficult topic to tackle because there is such a wide variety of both seafood and wine to choose from. Sparkling wine works well practically everywhere, while full-bodied dry whites like Chardonnay are nearly universal in seafood combinations. Some of the reasons why you should eat seafood and more like it.
No matter what you choose, the most important thing is that you like it. There are no wrong answers in food and wine pairing, so figure out what you like and just enjoy it.
