Is it possible to pair red wine with fish? 

Red wines pair wonderfully with fish, and that's not an April Fool's joke! 🐟🍷 

Let the texture of the fish, the cooking method and the sauce make your pairing. 😉 

Long gone are the days when pairing fish and red wine was considered taboo, an insult to gastronomy. The trend has changed - along with tastes and habits - also thanks to a greater knowledge of wine and its facets over the years. If once there was only red wine and white wine, today we know that there are thousands of other nuances, grape varieties and production styles. Fish is often considered as a delicate food, with a light flavor, which if paired with a red wine - traditionally associated with "heavy" characteristics - would lose all its refinement. There are some fish and shellfish that would actually be covered if served raw in combination with a red wine, but there are many others that can enjoy them favorably. According to some sources, historically it has always been preferred to pair a white wine with fish because the greater amount of iron present in red wines causes an unpleasant taste to form on the palate, while the lightness and freshness of a white would not cause it.

As in any pairing - not only of fish and red wine - it is important to start by interpreting the various flavor components of each dish and wine, to understand which combination to choose. It is imperative to always keep in mind that, just as there are hundreds of preparations and varieties of meat, the same is true for fish. You would never pair the same wine with a plate of Marsala scallops and a Florentine steak, so you need to use the concept that a clam chowder cannot be paired with the same wine you choose for a sushi dish.

With a good mixed fry or squid, the ideal wine to pair is one that has the ability to degrease and cleanse the palate, thus preferring acidic and alcoholic wines, such as a sparkling wine or a dry white. On the other hand, if we talk about lean fish such as swordfish, sea bream and blue fish in general, they go perfectly with dry red wines such as a Sangiovese.

Pinot Noir is an excellent grape variety to pair with fish, from oysters to fish soup - such as cacciucco livornese or bouillabaisse French - especially if produced in South Tyrol or other mountainous areas, since its characteristics of freshness, weak tannins and scent of small fruits goes very well with the spicy flavors of soups.

In Piedmont, pairing fish with red wine is an ancient tradition, in particular cod (steamed, baked, creamed, tartared) with a young Barbera aged in steel, which has therefore maintained the characteristics of flowers and red fruits.

A full-bodied and well-structured red wine, such as Chianti Classico or Sardinian Cannonau, goes wonderfully with fish dishes seasoned with garlic, tomatoes, chilli, capers and other ingredients with important aromas, such as peanut-crusted prawns with eggplant.

The pairing of white wine and fish has always been considered an untouchable truth, a balance between aromas and flavors that is difficult to question. In reality, this is not an absolute truth: alongside this "sacred union", the pairing of red wine with fish is becoming more and more popular, long considered a real taboo, now considered wrong and now almost completely destroyed. The ideal red wine to pair with fish dishes is characterized by moderate tannins so as not to cover the taste and high freshness with floral notes and fruity hints.

Young and dry on the palate, the ideal red wine to pair with fish is the one that is tasted from the first years after the harvest. Purple-red in color tending to ruby, the nose has a good balance between acidity and flavor, while its flavor is often lively and can be enriched with notes of aromatic herbs and pepper, perfect for highlighting the delicate taste of fish. Another fundamental element to be respected when pairing red wine with fish is the serving temperature: the wine must be tasted chilled in a large glass at a temperature of 10°-12°C. The same pairing criterion can be repeated for fish-based dishes with a high fragrance or particularly spicy such as tuna tataki, stewed octopus or Livorno-style mullet, dishes with strong and decisive flavors that go well with young and fresh red wines.