White Wine Varieties for Fish and Seafood
By Renee Shelton
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There are many great selections for white wines that can be served with fish or seafood dishes, Generally speaking, baked fresh fish go well with dry white wines, such as a Chardonnay. A rich sauce served with the fish or seafood dish pairs well with something that can cut the richness, like a Sauvignon Blanc. Spicy dishes go with Gewürztraminer. Seafood, like shrimp and crab, go well with a Fumé Blanc or Chenin Blanc.

Serving and Storing White Wine

The best temperatures for serving a white wine for dinner are when they are at 55 to 60 degrees F, or just colder than room temperature. Most white wines can be drunk when purchased, but big whites that need to be stored can be housed in the cellar along with the red wines. If the bottle isn't drunk at one sitting, it may be tightly corked and stored in the refrigerator, and finished within a couple of days.

White Wine Varieties to Look For

Here are some popular and more unusual varieties for white wines to look for:

• Aligoté -
  This is a white grape from Burgundy, and is best drunk young.
• Chablis -
  Very dry white wine, with a light body to it. Goes well with both seafood and fish dishes.
• Chasselas (also known as “Gutedel” in Germany, “Fendant” in Switzerland) -
  Also best when served young.
• Chardonnay -
  This is one of the most popular varieties, and can be either very rich and oaky to dry and fruity, depending on the vineyard. Most all Chardonnays are full bodied.
• Chenin Blanc -
  This is a semi sweet white wine, with a fruity body. Can easily be served with passed seafood appetizers.
• Furmint -
  From Hungary. (Pinot Gris). This is a variety grown mainly for Tokay, as in “Tokay d'Alsace."
• Gewürztraminer -
  Can be either light or medium bodied, and goes great with spicy dishes, and Asian cuisine.
• Grüner Veltliner -
  Austrian, just “Veltliner” in Italy. A dry white wine.
• Muscadet -
  Made popular with “Melon de Bourgogne”. For California wines, try the Pinot Blanc as a substitute variety.
• Muscat -
  This is a sweet wine, sometimes found dry. All muscats have a very pronounced aroma to them.
• Pinot Gris -
  Full bodied white wine, this is the white grape relation of the Pinot grape family. For Italian wines, look for “Pinot Grigio."
• Pouilly-Fuissé -
  Dry white wine, it is a good match with seafood dishes.
• Sauvignon Blanc -
  Another very popular go-to wine variety. It is dry, and often blended with Semillon.
• Verdelho -
  Soft to semi sweet wine, this is used to make white Port.
• Viognier -
  This sometimes spicy light bodied white wine is good with seafood.
• Weissburgunder -
  Another name for “Pinot Blanc”.

Cooking and Recipes

Menus
Click below for a menu of recipes by type of fish or seafood
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