Wine & Food Pairing: What wine to drink with seafood, oysters and urchins?

What to drink with crustaceans, shellfish, shrimps, periwinkles, langoustines, crab (Tourteau, KingCrab…), lobster, urchins, whelks, mussels, clams or oysters?

The seafood platter is a French gastronomic speciality that is common to eat during Christmas time and summer time. It is composed of different seafood such as shrimps, periwinkles, langoustines, whelks, lobster, crabs, clams… Some are raw and others are cooked in a court-bouillon. According to regional traditions the court-bouillon may be spiced.

The seafood platter is eaten accompanied by mayonnaise / aioli and lemon.

The seafood platter is frequently accompanied by oysters. There is no only “one” kind of oyster but there are many varieties with a lot of different tastes, characteristics (fat, fleshiness, iodine, size…) and terroirs. So, you will have to consider the variety and the terroir of the oyster to adjust your wine choice.

Below there are some Wine & Food Pairing suggestions to match with seafood platter, oysters platter or with raw urchins.

Wine & Food pairing : What wine to drink with a seafood platter ? (crustaceans + shellfish)

• Entre-deux-mers – Bordeaux (white)
• Muscadet-Sèvre-et-Maine – Loire (white)
• Muscadet – Loire (white)
• Sancerre – Loire (white)
• Sylvaner, Alsace – Alsace (white)
• Pinot Blanc, Alsace – Alsace (white)
• Champagne Grand Cru – Champagne (sparkling)
• Champagne blanc de blancs – Champagne (sparkling)
• Crémant de Loire – Loire (sparkling)
• Charlemagne – Bourgogne (white)
• Cassis – Provence (white)
• Chassagne-Montrachet – Bourgogne (white)
• Chablis – Bourgogne (white)
• Chablis Grand Cru – Bourgogne (white)
• Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir – Bourgogne (white)
• Chablis Grand Cru Bougros – Bourgogne (white)
• Chablis Grand Cru Grenouilles – Bourgogne (white)
• Meursault 1^er Cru Genevrières – Bourgogne (white)
• Meursault – Bourgogne (white)
• Châteauneuf-du-Pape – Rhône (white)
• Chardonnay, Pays d’Oc – Languedoc-Roussillon (white)
• Chardonnay, Olifants River – South Africa (white)
• Chardonnay, Stellenbosch – South Africa (white)
• Chardonnay, Mendoza – Argentina (white)
• Chardonnay, Yarra Valley – Australia (white)
• Chardonnay, Mendocino County – California, United-States (white)
• Chardonnay, Sonoma – California, United-States (white)
• Chardonnay, Willamette Valley – Oregon, United-States (white)
• Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough – New Zealand (white)
• Chardonnay, Marlborough – New Zealand (white)
• Chardonnay, Maipo Valley – Chile (white)
• Chardonnay, Rapel Valley – Chile (white)
• Sauvignon Blanc, Rappel Valley – Chile (white)
• …

If the used court-bouillon to cook seafood (shrimps, periwinkles, langoustines, whelks, crabs…) is spicy you can pair these seafood with an Alsace Gewurztraminer (white).

For the curious I suggest to try the Egia Tegia wine, a Bask country wine. This vineyard is located on the Socoa calcareous ledge.

Wine & Food Pairing : What wine to drink with fresh oysters ?

• Riesling, Alsace – Alsace (white)
• Silvaner, Alsace – Alsace (white)
• Riesling Grand Cru, Alsace – Alsace (white)
• Entre-deux-mers – Bordeaux (white)
• Sainte-Foy-Bordeaux – Bordeaux (white)
• Pouilly-Fumé – Loire (white)
• Chablis – Bourgogne (white)
• Chablis Grand Cru – Bourgogne (white)
• Chablis 1^er Cru Mont de Milieu – Bourgogne (white)
• Chablis 1^er Cru Fourchaume – Bourgogne (white)
• Chablis 1^er Cru Beauroy – Bourgogne (white)
• Champagne blanc de blancs – Champagne (sparkling)
• Champagne Grand Cru – Champagne (sparkling)
• Irouléguy blanc – South West of France (white)
• Graves – Bordeaux (white)
• Pessac-Léognan – Bordeaux (white)
• Jurançon sec – South West of France (white)
• Petit Chablis – Bourgogne (white)
• Gaillac – South West of France (white)
• Sancerre – Loire (white)
• Entre-deux-mers Haut-Benauge – Bordeaux (white)
• Bordeaux Blanc – Bordeaux (white)
• Bergerac blanc – South West of France (white)
• Rias Baixas – Galicia, Spain (white)
• Sauvignon Blanc & Sémillon, Margaret River – Australia (white)
• Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley – California, United-States (white)
• Riesling, Columbia Valley – Oregon, United-States (white)
• Riesling, Willamette Valley – Oregon, United-States (white)
• Riesling, Seneca Lake – New York, United-States (white)
• Riesling, Canterbury – New Zealand (white)
• Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough – New Zealand (white)
• Pinot Blanc, Okanagan Valley – British Colombia, Canada (white)
• Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley – British Colombia, Canada (white)
• Sauvignon Blanc, Central Valley – Chile (white)
• …

Wine & Food Pairing : What wine to drink with urchin ?

• Petit-Chablis – Bourgogne (white)
• Entre-deux-Mers – Bordeaux (white)
• Cassis – Provence (white)
• Fiefs-Vendéens – Loire (white)
• Muscadet-Sèvre-et-Maine – Loire (white)
• Riesling Grand Cru, Alsace – Alsace (white)
• Buzet – South West of France (white)
• Côtes de Bordeaux Saint-Macaire – Bordeaux (white)
• Coteaux du Languedoc – Languedoc Roussillon (white)
• Limoux – Languedoc Roussillon (white)
• Côtes de Provence – Provence (white)
• Albarino – Galicia, Spain (white)
• Ruesda – Castilla Léon, Spain (white)
• …

For those who are « Rosé Lovers » I suggest to par urchin with a few Provence Rosé wines