How To Properly Pair Wine With Oily Fish

The term "oily fish" may sound unfamiliar or even unappetizing. If so, you might be surprised to learn that many of the most popular and delicious fish, including sardines, salmon, tuna, and mackerel, belong to this category. Characterized by their highly oily gut cavities and body tissues, they are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids. These types of fish are extra-flavorful and belong in your meal rotation. However, they won't work with certain meal ideas. Oily fish may not be the best choice for ceviche, for example. On the other hand, they're particularly delightful when paired with the right wine.

There's a wide variety of oily fish, and their richness can make it tricky to identify the best, most complimentary wine pairing for each one. That's why we asked expert Kristin Ma, the Co-Founder and Beverage & Service Director of Cecily, a wine bar and restaurant in Brooklyn, NY, for her suggestions. In an exclusive exchange with Chowhound, Ma recommended a variety of white wines, notable for their salinity, weight and texture, to pair with different types of oily fish. Her choices reflect the weight, density and richness of the fish.

For small, oily fish like sardines and anchovies, which have some of the highest fat contents, Kristin Ma recommends "big, salty whites like Rías Baixas." The Rías Baixas region of Spain produces the renowned Albariño grape varietal, which is known for its crisp, dry and refreshing flavors, with notes of citrus as well as tropical and stone fruit. "The weight of the wine matches the weight of the fish, but the acidity of Albariño makes the fish's oiliness feel lighter," Ma explains. "Bonus points if it has a little age, like the Do Ferreiro wines," she adds.

For meatier fish, like salmon or rainbow trout, Ma advises, "I'd probably switch it up for another Galician white grape like Treixadura." Galicia, an autonomous community in Northwestern Spain, includes both the Rías Baixas region as well as the Ribeiro region, where Treixadura grapes are mainly grown. Treixadura is a medium-bodied, acidic white wine with notes of honeysuckle, apple, peach and pear. This wine, Ma says, "still has lifted acidity, but it's slightly more textured and would match the weight of a bigger, denser fish."

Ma likes pairing these Galician wines with high-quality tinned fish packed in EVOO — "the good stuff," as she calls it. For canned fish packed in water, she says, "I'd probably opt for a wine with a touch less acidity since there's less richness in the fish. It'll help the wine feel less abrasive."