La Vigilia

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Eating Seven Fishes Christmas Eve!

 

When the Christmas shopping frenzy finally settles down, it’s time to focus on the most important parts of the holiday season - family, food and wine! Many families partake in the Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner, and most use a variety of seafood styles throughout the meal. We’ve heard of one of our favorites, a crab cake appetizer, that made the menu. But, that’s the beauty of this fish feast, there are no rules as to what you must cook, which gives the chef freedom to be creative. But it also makes pairing the right wines a little tricky.

To give an exact wine pairing for the feast is difficult, as there are dozens of different ways to prepare each of type of seafood. It’s more about the consistency and texture of the fish and the sauces. For example, an appetizer of raw oysters and clams will need a far different wine than Clams Casino or fried oysters. Below are some easy and general wine pairings for various styles of seafood that you might serve for your seven fishes feast.

RAW/CHILLED SEAFOOD:

The general rule of thumb is the lighter the dish, the lighter the wine.  Try a Sancerre for this paring. The minerality in these high acid, citrus flavor wines seem to bring out all the flavors and freshness in any chilled seafood dish. A dry, high acid Finger Lakes Riesling will also work with all those raw bar goodies. Pinot Grigio is a popular light white wine for this part of the meal, but, unless it’s very good, it’s a little too neutral. But if Pinot Grigio is your choice, try one from the Collio region.

BAKED/FRIED SEAFOOD:

For dishes like baked cod or seared scallops, you still want to keep it light but with a bit more body. Albariño can work well as these wines still have that acidity but have more body and structure. Chablis is a solid option too, as these typically unoaked wines made from Chardonnay have all the qualities we love about Chardonnay, but without the oak influence.

 If your fish is getting fried, you’ll have to step up to bigger whites like Burgundies or California Chardonnays, and here is when you can start trying the reds. The thicker and heavier the batter, the bolder you can go on the wine. Lighter Chianti Classico and Pinot Noir can work for a delicate sautéed dish, but if you are going with the deep fryer don’t be afraid to pull out a Zinfandel or Syrah, especially if you’re cooking something with a little spice in it.

SEAFOOD WITH PASTA:

For openers, make sure you use the same color wine as you do for the sauce. For white sauce dishes, like linguine with white clam sauce, you can still use the same Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc as you served for the raw/chilled seafood. But, for something a little different, try an Italian white for these dishes and go with a quality Soave (made from the Garganega grape) or even a Lacryma Christi.

This wine’s name means “Tears of Christ” and comes from an ancient story. There are many variations, but in the Italian version of this myth, Lucifer was cast out of heaven. As he fell towards earth, he grabbed a chunk of heaven. When he reached the ground, he dropped it on the foot of Mt. Vesuvius. When Jesus saw this, he wept. Those tears ran down the mountain and were made visible to humans in the streaks of lava flows down the sides of Vesuvius. When Christ’s tears finally reached the ground, vineyards grew at those spots. The wine has hints of citrus fruit, pineapple and peach and good minerality due to the volcanic soils.

Red sauce equals red wine, preferably something  a little high on the acid scale. Tomato sauce is high in acid so you’ll want a wine that can match it allowing the food and wine to complement one another. A quality Barolo or Chianti Classico Riserva are excellent choices.  

HEARTY SEAFOOD:

This is also a sauce-based pairing in terms white or red wine, but because lobster, king crab, swordfish, etc. can be very meaty and weighted, you can try red for both sauce options. An oaky Chardonnay with a broiled fish and white wine or butter-based sauce can be over the top in terms of oak aging (as many of the California Chardonnays are). The acidity and fruit should stay in balance. Try a Finger Lakes Chardonnay or a Pouilly-Fuissé.

If your bacala is swimming in a sea of marina sauce, you can stay with the same red options from the pasta course. However, here’s where you can expand into some of the bigger reds, as those meaty seafood selections can hold up to the weight of those dishes. A Super Tuscan or Brunello would be the traditional big red pairings, but if you have been waiting to open one of your aged Bordeaux or Napa wines, this is the time to do it.

Whatever you do, make sure to open something special in the good company of family and friends this Christmas, as that is always the BEST pairing of the season.