Wine and paella: what better pairing for the summer? In this article, we’ll walk you through the best food and wine matches for paella. Whether you’re at the beach, on a great terrace or at home, you’ll find your bottle here. If you’re wondering what to drink with paella, the answer is in this article.
Wine and paella: the quick answer
What’s the best wine to go with paella? In a few words, here’s the answer to save you time:
- Red wine from Languedoc-Roussillon (Côtes du Roussillon, Saint Chinian);
- A rosé from the Rhône Valley (Tavel, Costières de Nîmes);
- White wine from Corsica (Ajaccio, Patrimonio).
Of course, there are plenty of other possible pairings with paella. If you want to dig in, keep reading.
What wine should you drink with paella?
Pairing wine and paella can be a treat that lifts your sunny day. In the paragraphs that follow, we’ll walk you through the best matches for paella. Whether with red, white or rosé, you’ll find what you love most. The paella recipe is complex and packs in many ingredients, so the pairing is too. Heads up: we’re going to make you pull bottles out of your wine cellar.
Red wine and paella
A red can be a really lovely pair for paella. You just have to choose carefully. The tannins in wine could ruin the pairing. So pick a red that’s well balanced, with lovely fruit and spice notes and tannins that have melted in. That structure will also balance the dish’s richness. From our side, we’d recommend:
- A Loire wine like a Chinon;
- A Rhône wine (especially Syrah-based);
- A Languedoc Roussillon wine like a Saint Chinian.
White wine and paella
From our point of view, white is probably the ideal wine for paella. As we said, paella is a fairly rich dish, especially because of the charcuterie, fish and olive oil it needs. So the white you pick has to fit. We’d recommend going for a dry white that’s fairly fruity or with lovely buttery or toasted notes.
To pick the right white with your paella, we’d recommend:
- A Corsican white (Ajaccio, Patrimonio);
- Languedoc white (Collioure, Coteaux du Languedoc);
- A Corbières white;
- A Provence white.
Rosé and paella
Rosé is always a safe bet in summer. With paella, the pairing is brilliant. We’d recommend a Rhône Valley rosé like a Tavel or a Costières de Nîmes. No doubt this match with paella will be top quality and you’ll love it.
Spanish wine and paella
Paella is a traditional dish in Spain. If you’re after a Spanish wine to go with it, you’ll find what you need. As we said, you can lean toward a red as long as it’s fairly young and shows a lovely balance between fruit, spice and tannins. So to go with paella, we’d suggest Rioja wines made from Tempranillo or a Bierzo wine made from Mencía.
To finish, if you’d rather pair your paella with a white, head for a Rías wine made from Godello.
And there you have it, you now know everything about pairings with paella. Whether you decant the wine or decant it, you’ll be in for a treat. Don’t forget to raise a toast for us when you taste. If you want to dig in and learn to do food and wine pairings, join Le Club.
