Wine with Lobster

Picked up two live lobsters yesterday (we call them Cop and Blair). The wife almost dropped them when they twitched in the bag - she'd thought they were cooked when I handed them to her.

Question - what wine to have with them?

Simple preparation, boiled, lemon, butter.

Something with fruit? A nice crisp Riesling perhaps?

As an ABC member, I don't have much chard and what I have tends to be older American, not the style one would want to stand up to this sort of thing.

Fresh out of Sancerre. I'd maybe opt for chilled Manzanilla, but She-who-must-be-obeyed would be snockered about one claw into the dinner and the ensuing meal wouldn't be pretty and might leave splatters on the walls.

Sauv Blanc, perhaps.....?

[Jenise]

We do lobster at least once a yar, and our experience is that lobster's rich sweetness rewards a wine that mirrors those attributes which is why chardonnay's so good. Whatever you choose, don't choose a lean white (though I fear that's mostly what you have). If you have any BC pinot blancs on hand, I'd choose one of those over a savvy. And Susan will like it better.

Hey, see my report on burr vs. blade.

While I don't eat it, I imagine Wachau Gruner Smaragd could match nicely - the same richness you'd get from a bigger Chardonnay, but with far more interesting flavours.

Off dry Riesling; do it all the time.

Carl
In Lobsta Country

Shame the only food that goes well with those big CA chards. A German Kabinett should do. Probably too late but steam don't boil

Had a 1997 Saintsbury Carneros Chard and it worked out pretty well.
The crustaceans are but a fond memory!

I was visiting my sister in Maine over Easter weekend. We had lobsters for dinner Saturday night and paired it with a 2006 Vouvray. Several years ago, during a similar weekend and with the help of WLDGers here, I provided several wines for lobster dinner - bubbly, Chard, Riesling and Vouvray, with the latter being the hands down favorite.

Bill,
Surely you have some bubbles on hand, no? I'd think that Krug or Bollinger would go passably well with lobster

Mark Lipton

I tend not to challenge good bubble with food that may detract from my enjoyment of them.

I am not crazy about fruity and acidic wines with buttery seafood. I would go with White Burgundy; my favorite is always Puligny, Chassagne may be too earthy and Chablis too austere for a buttery lobster, again, my preference is Puligny but Meursault may also work.

As part of a 8 plate dinner I will be serving a poached maine lobster tail with a French Viognier and a California Viognier


Gary

Bill,

I'd be reluctant with high acidity wines and lobster, despite the touch of lemon you mentioned. My experience is that wines like rieslings tend to 'dissect' the texture of the lobster, making it grainy. A friend of mine and riesling fanatic once insisted on trying a riesling with basically prepared lobster at some restaurant party with had together. I did not find it a great success, I must say. Even my riesling fanatic friend agreed, and it takes a little to convince him of a riesling not pairing well at the dinner table
The second wines was grand cru Chablis, and that wine performed distinctly better, even when that wine was a little 'tight' as well. If you don't fancy the strong minerality of white burgs, you may want to try something a little richer. There's lots of well balanced not too oaky chardonnay from CA (or e.g. New Zealand) nowadays, stuff that has excellent texture to match with lobster, actually has a touch of sweetness that the lobster will give you as well (if not overcooked), and yet has bits of the freshness that you appreciated in wines like rieslings. Another wine I'd consider is a not too oaky, good quality chenin blanc. Here you have excellent texture as well, and a little more of the acidity you were looking for when considering riesling.

Best,

Cor

Agreed with many of the suggestions above (especially with re Viognier and Premier and Grand Cru Chablis) but would it be absolute heresy to suggest a fine Burgundy red with grilled lobster?

Best
Rogov

Agreed with many of the suggestions above (especially with re Viognier and Premier and Grand Cru Chablis) but would it be absolute heresy to suggest a fine Burgundy red with grilled lobster?

Best
Rogov

Daniel,

Every breakthrough is initially characterized as heresy, I'd be inclined to say
Tannins tend to have a similar effect on lobster texture as high acidity, but since pinot noir doesn't have a whole lot of that, maybe it could work. I would still go for a very delicate type, though, and maybe add a sauce to the grilled lobster that would somehow make a link between the fishy notes and the red fruit impressions. Maybe a red fruit aromatized lobster fumé with a Volnay from a lighter vintage? Just thinking aloud; interesting suggestion! After all the iodine notes of the lobster do have a match with racy pinot noir.

Best,

Cor

I guess it depends on how you serve and eat the lobster. We melt a pat of butter in a custard dish of lemon juice to dip the lobster into. This is why we go for the off dry Riesling.

I guess it depends on how you serve and eat the lobster. We melt a pat of butter in a custard dish of lemon juice to dip the lobster into. This is why we go for the off dry Riesling.

Me too. I'll try the Riesling next time!