What drinks go with seafood paella?

April 24, 2007 8:08 AM

What alcoholic drinks go with seafood paella?

My friend and I are going to be making paella tonight, to be accompanied by sangria. What other alcoholic beverages would be good with seafood (scallops and shrimp) paella? Wine, hard liquor, beer? Thanks in advance!

posted by jroybal to food & drink (22 answers total)

Mojitos! They're a palate cleanser, so they are refreshing without overwhelming the (rather heavy) paella.
posted by muddgirl at 8:16 AM on April 24, 2007

Any dry white wine. I'd go for a Sauvignon given the choice.
posted by Phanx at 8:19 AM on April 24, 2007 [1 favorite]

White wine, something aromatic like a Gewürztraminer or a Viognier, would be the way I would go.
posted by cerebus19 at 8:19 AM on April 24, 2007 [1 favorite]

A white or red rioja wine from Spain would be a logical pairing. Sherry (not the cheap cooking kind!) can also work.
posted by Atom12 at 8:21 AM on April 24, 2007

A nicely chilled glass of a good dry sherry would work well. Or any refreshing white wine or beer.
posted by misteraitch at 8:21 AM on April 24, 2007

I would feel comfortable serving either a light, bright beer or a spicy white wine. Paella is a really complex dish, with a lot of flavor layers, so I'd stick with something pretty simple on the drink front. I prefer spicy/peppery for dishes like that, but that might be a personal preference.

But either way: light, bright, not a lot of complexity is how I'd go.
posted by griffey at 8:24 AM on April 24, 2007

Seconding the suggestion of a Spanish white.
posted by dfan at 8:25 AM on April 24, 2007

Vinho Verde would be a good match -- simple, light, bright. A couple of this year's new ones just came in at my awesome local wine store -- check in with your favorite wine folks and ask them if they've got anything good.

Also, a dry-ish bubbly would be great. You can probably pick up a nice bottle of Spanish bubbly in the $12-15 range if you try (again, ask your favorite wine clerk). Lately, I've been really loving the Juve & Camps Reserva Cinta Púrpura Brut, and the thought of that with paella is just making me melt.

Hmmm. Gotta go buy some scallops and shrimp now.
posted by ourobouros at 8:35 AM on April 24, 2007

A decent Pinot Gris would work too, although it may be too light depending on how spicy the dish is. Can't go wrong sticking with the wines of the region where the dish orginated, though, as mentioned above.
posted by elendil71 at 8:37 AM on April 24, 2007

Seconding vinho verde; that's my favorite accompaniment for seafood n' rice.
posted by jamaro at 8:49 AM on April 24, 2007

My mum is Spanish and when we're with the family we always drink white with paella or, if it's a hot day, 'Tinto de Verano' which is a red wine mixed with gaseosa. I'm not sure if anyone knows what gaseosa is outside of Spain, and it's really what kids drink, but it's really pretty refreshing on a summer's day.
posted by ob at 8:55 AM on April 24, 2007

pilsner urquell
posted by bruce at 9:16 AM on April 24, 2007

Sangria!
posted by afx114 at 9:16 AM on April 24, 2007

Nothing goes with a paella like a dry fino sherry, like Tio Pepe. It'll have a bit more to it than a vinho verde, which is very light on the tongue, so it'll keep up with the paella a bit better.

(Note that this is nothing like the thick, syrupy cream sherries like Harvey's Bristol Cream you might have had in the past. Fino sherry is a pale, yeasty white dinner wine.)
posted by mendel at 9:20 AM on April 24, 2007

Vinho verde would be nice.

I'll also second "Tinto de Verano." Gaseosa, I assume, is a carbonated beverage. You can just add some nice sparkling water (seltzer or club soda are fine) and freshly-squeezed lemon juice.

If you want to take it a step further and approximate sangria, add a splash of triple sec (or other, similar liqueur), brandy (optional), some simple syrup to taste, and some fruit (maraschino cherries, more squeezed citrus sections).

In the end, though, a lot of what's been mentioned will pair nicely.
posted by stance at 9:49 AM on April 24, 2007

A fortified wine, like the sherries mentioned above, or a good port.

Also, a pisco sour might be nice.
posted by mds35 at 9:51 AM on April 24, 2007

Hmmm, actually, I assume you've already prepared the sangria. Tinto de Verano may be redundant, then. Go with a dry sherry and white and/or red Rioja.
posted by stance at 9:53 AM on April 24, 2007

Yeah, I was going to say Tinto de Verano may be too similar to Sangria to serve side-by-side. But both are heavenly!

My recommendation for a Spanish white is albariño. Spanish whites are some of my favorite wines in the world, and albariño is arguably my favorite wine variety period. I like Pazo San Mauro if you can find it.

And beer would be great! Spanish beer turned me on to beer. Unfortunately I've never seen Mahou or Damm here in the US, but I'm sure you could get your hands on some San Miguel.
posted by lampoil at 10:49 AM on April 24, 2007

if you want the full 'paella in chiringuito' experience, you could also try some sour beer watered down about 60/40 with 'gaseosa' or with just a little bit of any lemon carbonated drink. i recommend the first, tho. refreshing and not too sweet.

beer + gaseosa is known as 'clara' here.
posted by ArchEnemy at 11:59 AM on April 24, 2007

Tinto de verano!


posted by Brussels at 12:53 PM on April 24, 2007

For balance, why not add a sangría blanca?
posted by rob511 at 4:20 PM on April 24, 2007

Having lived in Andalucia for 2 years, there is only ONE answer to your question: MANZANILLA (from San Lucar de Barrameda.)
posted by mrmarley at 4:42 PM on April 24, 2007