Wine Matching
The easy approach when choosing a wine to go with your meal is to select the recipe ingredients that are going to mirror similar flavours and levels of sweetness of the particular grape varieties.
Salmon offers real flexibility and has a definite affinity with most white wines, which have enough acidity to cut through any residual oiliness in salmon dishes, as well as light red wines such as Pinot Noir.
Set out in the table below is a range of ingredients commonly used in salmon recipes along with corresponding wine varietal suggestions to provide the best wine match.
| Main Recipe Flavours or Ingredients | Wine Match |
|---|---|
|
Asparagus, capsicum, celery, chives, cucumber, dill, fennel, garden herbs, ginger, green salads, lemon grass or lemon zest, mint, parsley, radishes, raw tomato, spinach, zucchini |
Sauvignon Blanc or Semillon |
|
Cajun, citrus (especially orange or lime), honey, light curry, spicy, sweetness |
Riesling |
|
Avocado, butter, citrus (especially lemon), coconut milk, corn, cream, garlic, pecan, slivered almonds, sour cream or cream cheese |
Chardonnay |
|
Fruit salsa, masala, oyster sauce |
Pinot Gris |
|
Cinnamon, Cajun, ginger, horseradish, sweetness, wasabi |
Gewürztraminer |
|
Cooked tomato, eggplant (aubergine), molasses, mushrooms, olives, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce |
Pinot Noir |
Some recipes will include a number of the ingredients mentioned above. In those cases select the wine with the best fit or dominant flavour. Even one flavour matched is better than none. Salt or lemon (acid) added to a dish will soften acidity in a white wine or tannin in a red wine.
Smoked salmon is just as versatile with wine as fresh salmon, but is especially good with oaked Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Gris.