WHEN suppertime rolled around last Sunday night and I had an open bottle of a favorite red wine standing by (2008 Closerie des Alisiers Hautes Cotes de Beaune), I decided not to trek down to the cellar for another bottle – even though what was coming out of the oven made the choice a bit incongruous
It was fresh flounder filets, rolled into fat little packages, capped with sliced Tiny Tom tomatoes and baked under a sheaf of parchment paper. Also on the plate, a slice of potato tart from a photo shoot earlier in the week, and a bundle of the season’s first native asparagus bought that morning at Wilson Farms.
I knew the wine to be light, fresh, and juicy – certainly lighter than any number of whites one might replace it with. It seemed like a perfect time to revisit the question of whether red wine and fish can routinely make a successful team or whether the old rule that enjoins avoiding the match-up is worth heeding.
The answer: you can happily sip red wine (at least this red wine) with your fish (at least this fish) . . . you just can’t sip red wine with fish and asparagus!
[Originally published on Boston.com]
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