Joining friends on the back deck for a festive Saturday next week. Probably a dozen or so people One of the two main courses on the menu is southern fried catfish in seasoned cornmeal with hush puppies. Thoughts on wine matches? We’ll probably have iced tea and beer available, but we’ll certainly have white and red wines, too. Needing thoughts on white wines that should go well with catfish, but will also serve well for an aperitif and go with miscellaneous cut cheeses and fruit, etc.
I would try a dry riesling but im not an expert on pairing
How about a sparkling German Riesling, aka Sekt.
Zardetto Prosecco is available at most Total Wine stores.
And it will go fast, once people realize how good it tastes. I’ve never seen a party where there was any Prosecco left at the end of the night.
When it comes to fried fish, I’d choose Prosecco over Riesling.
If it were grilled, then you could argue for Riesling.
But not fried - that’s where Prosecco is really going to shine.
There’s certainly nothing wrong with bringing Riesling, but maybe save it for whichever pies you are having for dessert.
Cava or dryer domestic sparkler, beer, good rose’, champagne, Loire sparkler, Mediterranean whites that have enough zing to cut through the fattiness of the fish.
My first thought was Liquid Farm White Hill…that to me seems like a great way to balance out the fried piece and I can see the flavors, acidity, and everything in the dish finding a good balance with a wine like that. I also like the Dry Riesling idea…a nice GG with a dish like this could be a great way to bring people into the fold that not all Rieslings have to be “sweet”.
One other category that you never want to overlook is the sub-$15 bone-dry Muscadet Sevre et Maine sur lie.
Since the explosion of the prices of Chablis and Bourgogne Blanc, MS&MSL is one of the few bargains remaining in this hobby.
Although for the fried food, Prosecco would still be my first choice, by a long shot.
First thing that came to mind was albarino. Other Spanish whites like godello would probably work as well.
1.rose wine still or bubbles
2. bubbles of any kind
These are the best to me.
Sparklers first - rose preferred
Dry rose
Maybe a Nero d’Alba
I agree with Don. The man knows wine.
And catfish.
If you want domestic, try the Laetitia Brut Rose.
We did a pork BBQ dinner one time, with the Laetitia Brut Rose and the 1996 William Deutz Rose, and while the Deutz was the better wine, the Laetitia was a dadgum nice drink for a tiny fraction of the price of the Deutz.
For the kinds of fried fish with which I’m familiar, you’d definitely want clear bubblies.
I’d only consider adding color if you were ruining the poor fish with some Cajun nonsense like that hideous crap that they sell at Bojangles [in which case you might as well drink lighter fluid or kerosene or fingernail polish].
This is where the conversation ends.
Don is right.
I make fried chicken a couple times per month.
Always Champagne for me. Great match.
I’ll help with consensus and put in another vote for sparkling wine.
If you decide to go with a bubbly - Prosecco, Cava, Sekt, domestic, real champagne, whatever - then purchase at least twice as much as you think you’ll need.
Because once the party starts hopping, people will guzzle that stuff like fish sucking on water.
Someone posted a whole thread about this a while back, but I’m too lazy to search. I swear from these pairing threads that sparkling wine would be the most consumed wine by the board as a whole. For me, fried catfish…don’t overthink it…a good chard would be great.
Spatlese riesling or Alsace gewurz.
Thanks for the suggestions. Pretty much confirmed some ideas I had. I had thought Chablis; Champagne or other sparkling wine (blanc de blanc, not rose); and off dry Rieslings. Also thought about a Picpoul de Pinet.
I do like the suggestion of a dry Muscadet. That’s one I somehow tend for forget about, for some reason.
Any other thoughts, please let me know.
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