Wine can bring out the best in food, and yes, that does include seafood, but it&rsquo;s not only white wine that pairs well with seafood, despite the popular misconception, some red wine pairs well with some seafood. When you are choosing wine to pair with seafood, you should pay more attention to the wine notes, sweetness and dryness, than the color of the wine.

So how do you choose which wine pairs well with seafood. Certified sommelier, Michaela Quinlan reviews the wine list at Oceana where she reviews the list and offers pairing suggestions.

The wine list at Oceana is an extensive, award-winning 33-pages. A list of this size would take quite some time to navigate, but Michaela quickly identifies fabulous standout wines from around the globe and offers a few tips on pairing wine with seafood to help you make a wiser and tastier choice all in under five minutes.

Let&rsquo;s start with the bubbles because who doesn&rsquo;t like adding a little sparkle to the beginning of the meal?

All of the sparkling whites, whether French, Italian or Spanish,&nbsp; Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, will complement fried dishes like calamari, or any seafood fried and cooked in batter, but these bottles also pair deliciously well with caviar.&nbsp; At Oceana, you can order several by the glass, including&nbsp; Prosecco, Palidin, Extra Dry, Millesimato, Veneto, Italy 2020.

Moving on to the more obvious choice of white wine with seafood, to choose wisely, all foodies should understand which whites pair well and why. For example, a dry white wine like pinot gris or sauvignon blanc pairs best with meaty fish like cod and tilapia.

Moving on to the Spanish whites Michaela recommends the Albari&ntilde;o,&nbsp; Valtea, R&iacute;as Baixas, 2020.

The traditional cuisine of Portugal and Spain are seafood rich, so it makes sense that the local varietals of albarino and veldehro pair well with shellfish dishes of mussels, crab, scallops and lobster. These wines are light and fresh with notes of lemon and the right acidity and crispness, to complement the delicate flavors of the shellfish. Just as shellfish should not be overcooked, the wine should not overpower.

If chardonnay all day is your comfort zone, you are in good company. Chardonnay is popular for good reason. These fuller whites are heavier than the pinot gris or sauvignon blanc, but work well with bass, oysters, salmon, and even lobster. The heavier the seafood the more full-bodied the wine is a good rule to follow. At Oceana, the Chardonnay, Saint-V&eacute;ran, Domaine Luquet, Burgundy, 2020 is a good way to go.

Interested in more wine tips and recommendations? Click the link and listen to <a href="https://corkrules.com/episode/details/3">the podcast wine review</a> of Oceana.

Cheers.

Wine can bring out the best in food, and yes, that does include seafood, but it’s not only white wine that pairs well with seafood, despite the popular misconception, some red wine pairs well with some seafood. When you are choosing wine to pair with seafood, you should pay more attention to the wine notes, sweetness and dryness, than the color of the wine.

Wines that Pair Well with Seafood at Oceana

Wines from grapes grown in higher altitude areas with cooler climate has become quite the trend recently. This specific growing environment gives intense flavor but elegance and freshness to the final wines. To highlight and champion these conditions more and more winemakers are starting to use alto as a marketing and labelling term to show their grapes were grown in high altitude vineyards.

Decoding the wine label: Alto

Brut is a word often seen on labels for different kinds of sparkling wine. As you may have discovered when drinking these wines, it indicates that the wine is dry, meaning there is no perceived sweetness in the wine. But how about Extra Brut or Dry, what do they mean and are they the same as Brut?

Decoding the wine label: Brut

Semi-sweet Riesling, a type of wine falling out of style. It’s a shame, since these wines are perfect to pair with flavorful cuisines like Asian or Mexican, or simply drink as they come under the summer sun. The higher level of sugar left in the wine also means that the alcoholic fermentation was stopped before finishing, providing a wine with lower alcohol level and therefor easier grabbing a second glass of.

Decoding the wine label: Spätlese

Have you ever heard the word Xinomavro? Most have not. It is however a word on many sommeliers’ lips today, as it happens to be considered the grape variety with the highest quality in Greece, and one that is trending at the moment. The fact that Greece have been making wine for a long time comes as no surprise, but they have never exported an amount to make sure wine lovers around the globe tried it. With the growing wine tourism many have discovered these wines and are serving them in wine bars and restaurants in many countries today.

Decoding the wine label: Xinomavro

Chianti Classico, Valpolicella Classico, Soave Classico… Why do all these Italian wine regions have the Classico addendum and what does it mean? What is the difference for wines labeled as Classico?

Classico is a wine term in Italy seen on a few wine labels and it indicates that the wine’s from the historic center of the region, the heart. Using Chianti and Chianti Classico and their Sangiovese-based red wines as an example, Chianti is a rather large wine district within the Tuscany region. Chianti Classico is located withing Chianti as the central part and the one that originally existed. Back then this smaller region was actually called Chianti, but as the region grew the quality of the wine plummeted and the well-known characteristics of these red wines were watered down. The reputation took a hit and sales diminished. Eventually this led to the creation of Chianti Classico, which would be drawn from the original Chianti borders to recover the typicity of these wines. Today the quality of both Chianti and Chianti Classico have risen a lot due to modern techniques and knowledge about pruning, planting and temperature control in the winery.

Decoding the wine label: Classico

In the rarefied world of fine wine, where bottles can command prices equivalent to luxury cars, authenticity is everything. Laurent Ponsot's gripping memoir "FBI: Fake Bottle Investigation" reads more like a high-stakes thriller than a traditional wine book, chronicling his relentless pursuit of one of the wine world's most infamous counterfeiters, Rudy Kurniawan.

From Burgundy's Vineyards to the FBI's Most Wanted: A Winemaker's Quest for Justice

Chablis – one of the more popular styles of wine today and a region known by many. Most are familiar with the word Chablis and the light, fresh white wine with a touch of minerality it brings. Even though it’s a renowned wine, few knows what it really is.

Decoding the wine label: Chablis

Many grape varieties around the world of wine have names local to the region or country they’re grown in, even though they’re exactly the same. The most famous example would be Syrah in France where the same grape is named Shiraz in Australia. Another variety with two names is Pinot Grigio, or Pinot Gris.

Decoding the wine label: Pinot Grigio

Have you ever seen the term sur lie on a wine label? It’s not a grape and not a wine region, but a winemaking method used to give certain styles of white wine a rounder texture and a more complex flavor profile.

Decoding the wine label: Sur lie

Jaleo

Maria Valetta, wine educator and certified sommelier, and Robert Tas talk about Spanish wine (and a little sherry) at Jaleo by Jose Andres. J

Wine List Review of Jaleo by Jose Andres in Las Vegas

Maria Valetta

Jaleo by Jose Andres

Jaleo by Jose Andres 

RT): Hi Everyone, welcome back to CorkRules! The wine podcast that&rsquo;s here to help YOU navigate all your favorite restaurant wine lists so you can order wine with confidence!

I&rsquo;m Robert Tas, along with Maria Valetta, wine educator and certified sommelier, also known as Maria The Wine Blonde on Instagram. Welcome back Maria

MV: Hello Robert! Today we are talking pans of paella and Spanish Vinho at Jaleo!

RT: This is going to be incredibly helpful for our listeners Maria!

RT: Step into the brightly colored Jaleo restaurant in The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and you&rsquo;ll immediately feel the essence of Spain brought to life. Culinary mastermind Jos&eacute; Andr&eacute;s and his ThinkFoodGroup have infused authentic Spanish flavors into this tapas-style restaurant. The wine list has been curated to perfectly complement the stacks of vibrant plates at your table. Maria, Andal&eacute;! &hellip;let&rsquo;s dig in&hellip;

MV: Robert, This is such an incredible list .. it puts Spanish wines front and center as they make up 98% of the list&hellip; broken down into regions and then designated growing areas. At the very end of the list you WILL find a heading called&nbsp; Global Wines where they have a small selection of champagnes and some Cali predictables.. but this is the place you want to utilize the sommelier, get some suggestions and try some interesting Spanish wines! After all, the food menu is Spanish tapas so they go hand in hand.

RT: Let&rsquo;s do it&hellip; be our Somm Maria and start us off with some Spanish Vino by the glass.

MV: Sure thing&hellip; and guess what all the wines BTG are Spanish &ndash; so here&rsquo;s your chance to experiment.&nbsp; So Amazing to see this &ndash; it makes me so happy.

And what really excites me is that they have sherry by the glass. Sherry is a fortified wine that can be made in a range of styles. This particular one is a great way to start your meal.

The Manzanilla La Cigarrera, made from the Palomino Fino grape this a lighter-style sherry&hellip;it has this oxidized nuttiness plus citrus and salinity and is great with a handful of Marcona almonds&hellip; or some manchego. It&rsquo;s a dry wine no sweetness here at all.. and remember it&rsquo;s fortified so higher alcohol so be sure to eat something with it... it&rsquo;s meant to go with snacks.

RT: You don&rsquo;t see sherry often on menus do you?

MV: NOOOO You don&rsquo;t , but trust me when we were in Seville Spain we drank a ton of it... it&rsquo;s a THANG there. You get to really appreciate it. Okay, I also want to recommend some whites and reds&hellip;I don&rsquo;t want to run out of time here.

The&nbsp; El Zarzal Emilio Moro, Godello &ndash; I love the godello.grape. <s>Bierzo 2019</s> citrus creamy notes, a real pleasure to drink..&nbsp; this is my white pick but honestly, they are so many good options and reasonably priced I also like the Ulacia Txakolina, Hondarrabi Zuri &ndash; 2020 this may be hard to pronounce but easy to drink .. a touch of effervescence here&hellip;

Pause

For reds check out the Estenas Vera de Estenas, Bobal 2020- Utiel y Requena&nbsp; which is to the east of Madrid So bobal is the grape I actually opened a bottle of bobal but A different producer the other night and my husband who never had it, really liked it. THIS ONE IS really old vines dark fruits and purple floral notes as well.. rounded tannins.. traditionally pairs with paella of which they have quite a few variations of on the menu.&nbsp;

Then Under the heading premier wines by the glass try the Psi Dominio de Pingus, Tempranillo 2019 3oz 16 6oz 32 usually I only ever see this wine by the bottle so here&rsquo;s your chance to try it&hellip; it&rsquo;s a big wine!

RT Great wow... I&rsquo;m really digging these wines.. I&rsquo;m definitely putting this restaurant on my Vegas list!&nbsp; Okay, we need you to help us find some incredible value wines by the bottle.. what do you suggest?

MV: Actually this is easy as Spain is known for making quality wine at a fair price.

Let&rsquo;s see what&rsquo;s catching my eye&hellip; oooohhhh&hellip; the

Oro de Castilla Hermanos de Villar, Verdejo 2020 If you like Sancerre sauvignon Blanc in general, you&rsquo;ll like Verdejo. It has that bright zippy citrus profile plus some herbal notes and lots of minerality on the finish. If you&rsquo;re ordering gazpacho, ensalada verde, or anything fried.. this is your wine.

For red, check out the Arenisca Manuel Cantalapiedra, Tinta de Toro 2019 Tinto de Toro is tempranillo and so if you like riojas you&rsquo;ll like this wine. it&rsquo;s made in such a way that the tannins are going to be a little less aggressive&hellip; I&rsquo;&rsquo;m thinking to pair this with the grilled chorizo sausage dish. 
RT: This menu! Wow! Okay we have decided to sit at the chef&rsquo;s counter and splurge on all the top dishes&hellip; which wines do you recommend?

MV: nice I&rsquo;ve got a bigger budget to work with you&#39;re saying! LOL!

RT: YUP!

MV: Then in that case.. I&rsquo;ll steer you towards the Vi&ntilde;a Tondonia Reserva L&oacute;pez de Heredia, 2010 A white rioja! and I know what you&rsquo;re thinking wait what 2010???? But yes this wine is held until the winemaker feels it is ready, it was only bottled in Nov of 2018! This wine is so complex.. you have to be ready to sit with this wine and understand it.. made up of mostly the Viura grape, candied citrus, honeysuckle, and almond skin.. this is a rich golden color... unlike anything you have ever had.

And reds I can&rsquo;t pick just one so my 2 top favs...

&nbsp;

The &nbsp;Escalada do Bibei Alberto Orte, Menc&iacute;a Blend

Just over 2,000 bottles of this rare wine were made for the world! Mencia, Merenzao and Brancellao. It&rsquo;s going to have some similarities to PN. Light on its feet with lots of floral notes, strawberry and cranberry fruits and lots of spice notes<s>. </s>Some Iberico Pork (the wagyu of pork ) with this wine.

And one more if we have time... if you are into trying older vintages the 904 Gran Reserva La Rioja Alta, tempranillo&hellip; they have several older vintages of this famous Rioja&hellip; 95, 2001 and 2005 all really good vintages for the region.

RT: That would be fun to to all 3 and taste them side by side

MV: A dream for me!

RT: &nbsp;Well that&rsquo;s a wrap&hellip; Thank you Maria for finding us some gems on the wine list at Jaleo Las Vegas in the cosmopolitan. in Las Vegas.

Thank you everyone for joining us today. You can find more wine tips from Maria on Instagram @Mariathewineblonde. Remember the only rule in wine is &ldquo;drink what you LOVE&rdquo;.

MV: Have a favorite wine List? Let us review it here. Send us your requests at <a href="mailto:info@corkrules.com">info@CorkRules.com</a> You can find previous episodes on your favorite podcast platform and on

The CorkRules website. Be sure to follow @CorkRules on Instagram for episode and app updates. Prices and selections subject to change, please drink responsibly.

&nbsp;

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CorkRules application allows you to discover wines at your favorite restaurants, learn with friends and be confident with price transparency. Order wine with confidence at restaurants and retailers. Get personalized recommendations. #DrinkWhatYouLove

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