For some reason seafood tends to be one of the more intimidating food categories to pair with wine. That’s because seafood can be so delicate that some wines that might work with a lobster may also do very poorly with a roasted bass. A general rule for pairing any wine with any food is that you want the wine’s acidity to be higher than the food’s – that’s why a dark inky wine like Syrah with its low acidity won’t pair very well with a lemon-spritzed filet of sole, but it goes beautifully with a nice steak.
But can’t there be a catch-all, a wine that goes well with almost every seafood dish that you’re going to prepare this fall? Yep, that wine is Albariño. Albariño is a wine from Spain that was born on the Atlantic Coast, and it was bred for seafood. It’s a delicious wine with notes of peach and citrus that also has a great minerality, allowing it to pair well with whatever you’re cooking up from the sea. Try it with a delicious, hearty and rich Paella one night and then a light grilled fish the next.
Don Olegario Albariño is from Rías Baixas, the most famous region in Spain for producing high-quality Albariño. When poured into the glass, the wine immediately releases strong scents of lemon and wet rocks. The wine’s acidity is bubbly and refreshing, almost giving the impression that it’s carbonated – though it’s not – and there are flavors of peaches, honey, and melon. It’s a fantastic wine for seafood, or even on its own.
