Strong flavors can be hard to deal with sometimes, smoked fish being an example of a harder flavor to pair with wine. In fact for most pairing advice smoked fish seems like a paradox. Fish is full of delicate flavors that are typically paired with a white wine, but smoking foods almost always adds deeper notes to the fish as well as heightening the fish’s natural flavors in a way that could possibly make it too strong for some white wines to be enjoyed thoroughly in a pairing. The chance of just a random wine from the six bottle wine totes suiting smoked fish is slim, as smoked fish is known for not working with wine well for a reason. Thanks to the great variety of smoked fish available though, there is a possibility for a match.
The classic smoked salmon matches rather easily with a mildly dry red with light herb flavors and maybe even citrus notes. This combination works so well because fresh wines clean the mouth between bits of fish, but salmon can stand up fairly well to a red. More white meat fish like trout that have been smoked pair better with smoky, oaked whites like chardonnay.
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