This Is The Best Type Of Wine For Seafood Stew

"Fish stew" is a catchall term for a dish that has a murky origin. It's full of fishy tales and just as many variations on the recipe. Many countries have their own version of this meal (via Chowhound), but the one thing these hearty stews and soups have in common is fish. Two of the most common versions include cioppino – a San Francisco slow-cooked fish stew with tomato broth that's based on an Italian dish (via The Kitchen Product) – and bouillabaisse, a Provencal stew that is very similar to cioppino. However, the blog FoodieCrush points out, bouillabaisse is a French creation that uses fish stock and incorporates saffron and chopped-up tomatoes.

The blog also notes that the great thing about fish stew is you can pretty much use any seafood you like – crab, lobster, shrimp, halibut, mussels, and the list goes on. The versatility of fish stew makes it a great crowd-pleaser. But when it can be difficult to reel in the right wine to pair with some of the complex flavors that your catch-of-the-day stew offers. So, what are the best wines to serve with these seafood-laden meals?

Pairing wine with our fish stew gets us hook, line, and sinker every time. You might be tempted to play it safe and stick to the standard white wine whenever seafood is involved (via The Spruce Eats), but that may not always be the optimal pairing. If you plan on having cioppino, Wine Enthusiast suggests cracking open a bottle of Dolcetto, a red wine that complements several of the ingredients that cioppino recipes commonly include, specifically tomatoes, red pepper, and red wine already in the dish. The wine also works well with the bacon, onion, and tomato in seafood gumbo.

The Spruce Eats contends that you can also pair your cioppino with a rosé wine because of the tomato base. But for a bouillabaisse, Wine Enthusiast says to skip the red and the rosé and consider drinking a Chablis – a white wine made with 100 percent Chardonnay – alongside this dish, which might not have the right spiciness to go with the other wines. If you are unsure of what wine to pair with your fish stew, consider visiting the Wine and Food Matcher website which allows you to plug in your dish and spits back wine recommendations.