Ideal wines to pair with eel

Eel is a very special fish. It lives in brackish or sweet waters of the Mediterranean Sea or along the Atlantic coasts of Africa and Europe. At the time of reproduction, it faces a long journey to the Sargasso Sea, in the Atlantic Ocean between the Florida coast and the Azores. The children will then take the way back east to reach the starting points. In our regional cuisine there are many dishes based on eel, especially the female, called "capitone", which can reach up to one and a half meters in length. It is a fish with compact, tasty and rather fatty meats. However, the choice of wine to pair with eel basically depends on the type of cooking. We will take into consideration the most frequent preparations and propose a series of matching wines.

Grilled eel

It is one of the most suitable cooking methods for eel. The direct heat of the embers melts the eel fat and the meat remains leaner and tastier. It also has the advantage of being a very simple and easy to carry out cooking. The wine to be paired will be a white with good structure, fresh and savory, with good persistence and length. We could think of a Soave Classico or a Verdicchio di Matelica.

Fried eel

Frying further enhances the fatness of the fish meat, therefore a wine of good persistence and structure that cleans the palate is needed. We will bring to the table a Classic Method Pas Dosé Millesimato Franciacorta or Trento Doc.

Roasted eel

Roasted eel is a rich, well-structured and fairly fatty dish. We will combine a white wine with good body and beautiful freshness and persistence, perhaps even with a short passage in wood: Alto Adige Chardonnay Doc, Collio Bianco Doc, Verdicchio Classico dei Castelli di Jesi Riserva Docg.

Stewed eel

The stewed preparation with a tomato room sauce makes the dish richer and more structured. For the pairing we will choose a medium-bodied red wine, of good freshness and little tannic, young and aged in steel: a Rossese di Dolceacqua Doc, a Colli Berici Tai Rosso Doc, a Bardolino Rosso Doc, a Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo Doc or a Lambrusco di Sorbara Doc.