Wine Pairing for Cioppino?

Hi All.

We just “Goldbelly’d” some Cioppino from Phil’s Fish Market in CA., for delivery next week. What would you serve with this dish?

Thanks for your input!

David

I find soup in general a difficult pair and especially tomato based. I would go with a clean and crisp rose.

I looked in What to Drink with What to Eat by Dornenburg and Page. Unfortunately they do not have a specific listing for Cioppino (which is a bit surprising). For soup generally they recommend Sherry – which I think could be a good choice. I assume dry would work better. For Bouillabaisse they have three high recommendations: White Cassis, Provencal White Wine, and Rose. But of course Bouillabaisse is not tomato based. Lastly, for Tomato soup they recommend Sauvignon Blanc.

For me, I think I would go with G Keeler’s idea – a crisp and clean rose. I think you want something simple and refreshing to cut through the rich soup. My second choice would be a nice slightly chilled dry sherry (hmmm, that might be my first choice). Sauv Blanc seems risky to me – though it might depend on the style.

Let us know what you choose and how well it works. And also let us know if the soup travelled well. Looks tempting!

In my experience, I’ve gotten the best pleasure out of the meal and wine when I’ve paired the cioppino with a higher acid red wine. Think carneros/sonoma coast pinot noir or a sangiovese. Give a tempranillo a try if you’re feeling adventurous. Good luck and enjoy!

We had cioppino last week so I went diving here for info and found some good advice in older threads.

Have to admit that the food pairing threads are among my favorites on the site

p.s. We went with vouvray

Chianti/Sangiovese

It’s what we’ve always had with Cioppino. But then our Cioppino is heavy on the seafood and the sauce is not a broth but chunkier like a spaghetti sauce.

I love Cioppino with light, pretty Pinot noir but also with unoaked Chardonnay. Why not go with both? It’s fun having multiple bottles open on the table.

I like very light high acid chianti.

Hurricane Ron’s in Astoria, OR. Fantastic bowl. Had DIPA with this.

Hi all. I just wanted to get back with a brief report. First, thanks for your recommendations and helpful links. It’s been fun; I can’t think of many dishes prompting suggestions ranging from Vermentino to Tempranillo. I decided to open a few bottles and compare them side-by-side.

White: 2017 Do Ferreiro Albariño
Rose’: 2018 Domaine Tempier Bandol
Red: 2007 Castello della Paneretta Chianti Classico Riserva
I expected the Rose’ to be the safe choice and opened the other two out of curiosity. The rose’ didn’t work with the dish at all. It clashed in a way that made each taste terrible. Perhaps Bandol was the wrong choice, but it’s what I had in stock.

The white was quite good. It was very refreshing and made me want to gulp the food and wine. The vibrant acidity stood up just fine to the tomato sauce. Delicious.

The biggest surprise was the red. I know I should pair to the sauce, not the meat, but I didn’t picture this as a red-wine dish. Even after trying the other two wines, we said, “I don’t think it will work, but let’s give it a try.” We sipped at the same time and simultaneously were shocked at how good they went together. I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised, Chianti and tomato sauce always works, but I didn’t expect this synergy. It was this seamless connection between the two. Angie described it as “luxurious,” and I agree!

So, for last night #1 Red, #2 White, and a pass on the rose’. When summer comes, I’d probably reach for the white.

Thanks again!

Somewhere in my memory, I think I read that Marsanne was a good match.