Pairing Italian Wines & Seafood

Think pairing a great Italian wine and a seafood dish is difficult? With the help of a pocket Italian wine book, you can look up a region in Italy and pair it with a fish or seafood quickly.

Wines of Italy

If you are looking for a small book to carry with you while shopping for a seafood or fish dinner, or are wanting to know which region of Italy specializes in seafood, then the Wines of Italy by Burton Anderson is a great book to have. This pocket book is small enough to fit in a handbag or to carry around while you are at the market or at the wine cellar.

The book breaks the country down into the different wine regions, listing such things as the landscape and an overview of the area, recent and suggested vintages for different wine varieties, the wine producers, and the food specialties from the area.

The author has also listed recommended restaurants from each region, handy if you are traveling to the area. Also, with the many different wine varieties found in Italy it can be confusing, so he has listed each with either an origin for it, why it is popular in the region, or a tasting note of it. A wine glossary of Italian wine terminology is also listed.

Wine Regions and Their Seafood Specialties

Italy has a great number of wines, and each type has its own particular profile. An easy way to pair a seafood with an Italian wine is to look at a region and see what food or dish is unmistakably theirs. Choosing a wine for that dish will be as simple as choosing a wine from the area.

Here are different wine regions in Italy, with their highlighted fish or seafood dishes. Each region will have their own Italian wine to go with the seafood.

• Piedmont – ‘Bagna caôda’ Anchovies & Garlic as a Dip for Raw Vegetables – Serve with a Young Barbera or Freisa d’Asti
• Valle d’Aosta – ‘Trota’ Mountain Trout in Butter – Serve with a Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle
• Liguria – ‘Branzino in tegame’ Seabass in White Wine & Tomato – Serve with Vignamare
• Lombardy – ‘Risotto alla certosina’ Risotto with Freshwater Prawns, Frogs, Perch & Vegetables – Serve with Oltrepò Pinot Grigio
• Veneto – ‘Risotto nero’ Risotto with Squid Ink – Serve with Soave Classico
• Fruili-Venezia Giulia – ‘Granzevola alla triestina’ Spider Crab Baked with Seasoned Bread Crumbs – Serve with Cabernet or Schioppettino
• Marches – ‘Brodetto’ A fish soup with at least 13 types of fish – Serve with Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Riserva
• Umbria – ‘Anguille alle brace’ Grilled Eels – Serve with Colli del Trasimeno Rosso
• Latium – ‘Cozze alla marinara’ Mussels Cooked in their Liquor with Garlic & Parsley – Serve with Marino
• Molise – ‘Gamberi d’acqua dolce ai ferri’ Grilled Freshwater Crafish – Serve with Ramitello Bianco
• Apulia – Ostriche alla tarantina’ Fresh Oysters with Parsley and Breadcrumbs – Serve with Locorotondo
• Calabria – ‘Pesca spada’ Swordfish with Peppers, Lemon, Garlic & Capers – Serve with Cerasuolo di Scilla
• Sicily – ‘Tonno alla siciliana’ Fresh Tuna with White Wine & Fried Anchovies – Serve with Regaleali Chardonnay

Enjoy,
Renee Shelton
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