The Best Wine To Serve Alongside Scallops

Once you've overcome the mistakes everyone makes when cooking scallops, the only thing standing between you and a luscious seafood dinner is the decision regarding what wine to pair with your entrée. White wines are often considered to be the traditional accompaniment for scallops and a bonafide wine expert, BCB3's wine director Nader Asgari-Tar, couldn't agree more. More specifcially, Asgari-Tar tells us that he prefers a particular Italian variety that matches up just right with the consistency and taste of scallops.

"One of my favorite northern Italian white wines is Friulano, from Friuli-Venezia Giulia. A supple, vibrant, textured and layered wine with such beautiful noble acidity and richness," he enthuses. "Scallops have this lactic, soft delicate texture and subtle sweetness that pairs so well with the phenolic, acid-laden grip of Friulano." Not familiar with the name? Friulano comes from grapes grown in northeast Italy. They produce wines that are similar to Sauvignon Blanc, but take note that they're not interchangeable, as some people erroneously believe. Friulano also pairs well with roast chicken, prosciutto, or white fish served in a delicate sauce. It is best enjoyed chilled.

However, if you're having trouble sourcing Friulano or just want something else, Asgari-Tar is a flexible oenophile. He concedes that the perfect wine pairing for scallops can also be influenced by how the seafood is prepared. What you are planning to do with the scallops is an important point to consider when picking a bottle to compliment your meal.

How can we change up wine pairings for scallops based on how we serve them? "Friulano is certainly a versatile grape and can handle most preparations with ease," Asgari-Tar insists, but he ran down some diverse options for other recipes. Are you serving a scallop crudo, or do you perhaps plan to "cook" them in lemon juice in the style of a shrimp ceviche? "For raw scallops, Friulano or Ribolla Gialla would be so epic, bright, zesty, and fresh," says Asgari-Tar. On the other hand, if you have labored over a delicate sauce of butter and garlic, another label may be the answer. "For something that has more weight from butter [...] maybe a Savagnin from the Jura which has a strong acid profile, but also some yeasty midpalate," he muses. Planning to grill your scallops and get some beautiful scoring from the kiss of heat? "[A] bottle of Saint Joseph blanc from Faury [is] a magnificent companion to fire and smoke," our wine expert informs us.

White wine and scallops are a natural pairing, whether you are drinking the vino alongside the scallops or using it in a gorgeous beurre blanc to sauce your seafood. Never forget the cardinal rule of wine pairings, which is this: at the end of the day, you have to enjoy the wine. Drinking something you like alongside food you enjoy will never be a faux pas.