18-07-2025
Bargain and blowout whites to pair with summer seafood
They also provide us with excellent cold-water seafood — so good that we export much of it to the likes of France and Spain, where we end up eating it on our holidays. Maybe it's time to channel those holiday flavours at home?
Today's wine recommendations are all chosen as seafood-friendly pairings and include midweek into-the-basket bargains as well as special blowout options.
As always with food and wine pairings, drink what you enjoy. If you're not a white wine fan, then a dry rosé is an obvious alternative, whether a simple bargain like Le Bijou de Sophie Valrose 2023 Coteaux de Beziers (€12, SuperValu) or a complex Provencal star like Clos de l'Ours 'l'Accent' Rosé 2024 (€30,
Don't rule red wines out either. Opt for fresh, light-bodied, low-tannin styles that won't overpower the seafood: brighter styles of Pinot Noir (as opposed to heavy-hitter Burgundy), floral Gamay from Beaujolais crus like Fleurie, Spanish clarete or other 'vin de soif' red wines that suit a light chilling... the list goes on.
However, white wine is classic with seafood for a reason — especially those produced with freshness in mind, and where the grapes' natural acidity has been preserved along with its aromatic characteristics.
They say that 'what grows together, goes together', meaning that local foods and wines from particular regions often pair well together. Coastal wines often work with local seafood, as several of today's examples bear out. Margaret River in south-western Australia, Muscadet where the Loire meets the Atlantic, Rias Baixas in Galicia where the Albariño grape is queen: these are all wine-growing regions where cooling sea winds help to slow the ripening of the grapes and preserve their natural acidity.
For fans of the classic pairing of flinty Sancerre with shellfish-like oysters, today's Greek island wine makes a fascinating alternative with lots of smoky volcanic minerality. Or for seafood dishes with sunnier, bolder flavours — say of a Thai-style curry — think riper wines such as new world Sauvignon Blanc or a Cotes de Gascogne blend like La Salette l'Essentiel (€15, O'Briens Wines) with its tropical fruit and flower notes. These punchier styles also work well with more robust fish like mackerel or — that ultimate taste of sea and sunshine — grilled sardines.
Wines of the week
Fillaboa Albariño 2023, Rias Baixas DO, Galicia, Spain, 12.5pc, €27
Saline Albariño from the coastal Val do Salnés subregion is a classic pairing for local lobster, octopus, mussels, clams and fresh fish, but don't rule out inland subregions like Condado de Tea, where this wine hails from a steep riverside plot. Fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged 13 months on the lees, the complex result has honeysuckle, white tea and savoury aromas, silky weight and great length but also taut acidity with grapefruit and green apple freshness balancing riper pineapple notes. Wines Direct (Mullingar and Athlone);
Margaret River Sauvignon Blanc 2024, Western Australia, 13.5pc, €10.99
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This generous but bone-dry Sauvignon (and a touch of Semillon) with exotic fruit aromas and hints of grassiness on the fresh palate is a robust match for Thai spiced seafood, as is Aldi's organic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc (€9.99) with fragrant peach, papaya and nettle notes. Aldi
Livia Sous le Végétal 2019, Samos, Greece, 13.5pc, €33
If you're looking to wow with an aperitif pairing for Irish oysters, this electric-fresh natural wine from the Aegean island of Samos just west of Turkey is made from old-vine Moschato Aspro (Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains) aged in old barrels to add layers to its smoky, mineral, flinty profile. MacCurtain Wine Cellar (Cork), Fallon&Byrne, Ely (Maynooth);
Isolado Branco 2023, Douro, Portugal, 12.5pc, €10.99
Portugal delivers value in general, but Lidl's two Douro whites are real steals. Fresh, dry and crisp with attractive lemon peel and fresh pear character, this high-altitude blend of Verdelho and Rabigato is €8.99 until July 23 with Lidl Plus. Or try the simpler but crisp and clean Parcelas Douro Branco (€9.99). Lidl
Domaine Haute Févrie Muscadet-Sèvre et Maine sur lie, France, 12.2pc, €22
Bright, lemony, crisp and bone dry, and a versatile pairing for any seafood — or raise the bar with Haute Févrie's lean, mineral Clos Joubert Muscadet (€24.50, Barossa Wines) or Jerome Bretaudeau's earthy, linear Granite 'Clos de Perrieres' Muscadet (€45, Green Man Wines). The Arch (Cobh), Pinto Wines, Blackrock Cellar,
