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White wine would seem to be an obvious choice to serve with lobster. But what kind of white wine? And what about Champagne?
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DON'T ASK ME ABOUT MY FAVORITE WINES. Honestly, I like everything. But my favorite food? That's fair game. And the answer is easy.
Lobster.
A perfectly steamed Maine lobster with drawn butter and fresh lemon juice is my idea of heaven on a plate. The fact that my 9-year-old son Francis also counts lobster as his favorite dish only has increased my enthusiasm for it.
Given that a 2-pound lobster can set you back $20 or more, I don't cook it often -- and rarely order one in a restaurant, where the price tag can be twice as much. In other words, a lobster dinner qualifies as a special occasion. And that raises a special question: What should one drink with lobster?
For Francis, it's a no-brainer: root beer. (Or cream soda, if he's lucky.)
But most of us born in the previous century have many more options. Among them: wine and beer.
White wine would seem to be an obvious choice, given the conventional wisdom that dictates red wine with meat, white wine with fish. But what kind of white wine? A rich, oaky California chardonnay? A fruity German Riesling? A racy New Zealand sauvignon blanc? And what about Champagne?
Last summer, the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative conducted a survey of lobster lovers across the country to discover their favorite wine pairings. More than 3,500 people responded. Not surprisingly, 70 percent prefer white wine, with chardonnay being the No. 1 choice. But nearly one out of seven would recommend a red. Eight percent mentioned sparkling wine and 7 percent enjoy rose with their lobster.
Personally, I agree with "John G." of Dallas, who answered, "Any and all."
While entertaining, perhaps, the survey results provide little in the way of specific guidance. Here's the challenge: You've just spent a small fortune on four good-sized lobsters for a small dinner party and are now wandering the aisles of a discount liquor store with something on the order of 3,000 wines to choose from -- not to mention a couple hundred craft beers. What to buy?
To help answer that question, I turned to Doug Douty, whose Highlands-based business, Lusty Lobster, is a leading conduit of Maine lobster to the Jersey Shore. Douty supplies thousands of pounds of lobster each month to restaurants, seafood stores and consumers.
"A buttery chardonnay," Douty answered when I asked what he likes to drink with simply prepared lobster. But, he added, "I don't think there's anything wrong with Champagne."
Douty knows what he's talking about. To the extent that there's a consensus on matching wine with lobster, chardonnay seems to be it. In "What to Drink with What You Eat" (Bulfinch Press, 2006), an exhaustive compendium of wine-pairing ideas, husband-and-wife team Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg offer a couple of dozen possibilities, but highlight chardonnay as their first choice. In particular, they recommend an "oaky, buttery" chardonnay from California. Also fine in their estimation is Champagne.
I get the idea of a rich, buttery chardonnay. Lobster meat is nothing if not rich. And then there's all that melted butter. But I had my doubts. In my experience, New World-style chardonnays can be too rich and powerful, competing with -- rather than complementing -- the food.
So I decided to conduct an experiment. I invited a few lobster-loving friends over for a platterful of Douty's finest and opened a dozen bottles of wine. Among them were two chardonnays, including a buttery California version and a French chardonnay from the Burgundy region; a white Bordeaux, made from the sauvignon blanc grape; a New Zealand sauvignon blanc; a German Riesling; an Italian pinot grigio; and a very dry Croatian rose -- yes, Croatian rose. I also threw in one of my favorite sparkling wines (Roederer Estate) and a red (pinot noir).
We started with the rose and sparkling wine, then proceeded to taste through the whites, roughly in order from lightest to richest, saving the pinot noir for last. After each sip and accompanying bite of lobster, I asked my guests what they thought. As I've found so often in conducting such "fieldwork," we were in close agreement on our preferred pairings.
All but one of us gave a thumbs-up to the rose, from Croatian winemaker Bruno Trapan -- seeming to confirm sage wine-pairing advice from a friend in the business who counsels, "Pink with pink." It actually works: Dry rose pairs marvelously with shrimp and lobster, as well as salmon and cured ham. A high degree of natural acidity helped cut through the richness of the butter, keeping the palate fresh.
The sparkling wine, too, was a hit, but then I find Champagne to be more versatile than any other wine -- white or red, still or sparkling -- when it comes to food matches. More surprising was the German Riesling. The label I chose, Clean Slate, had a touch of sweetness that beautifully complemented the sweet lobster meat. But like all good Riesling, it also had plenty of refreshing acidity.
Another group favorite was the white Bordeaux -- specifically, the 2013 Chateau Turcaud Entre-Deux-Mers, from a part of Bordeaux recognized for the quality and value of its white wines. The key, once again, was a combination of pure fruit flavors and high acidity. And like the Riesling, there wasn't a touch of oak.
Which brings us to the chardonnay. The California label -- 2011 Martinelli "Bella Vigna" Chardonnay, from Sonoma County -- was unquestionably well-made. But it was quite oaky, having been fermented in barrel, then aged in oak for another 10 months. For me, as well as most of my guests, it was a little too much for the lobster. Better was the French version, from the Burgundian village of Mercurey. It was fresh and crisp, rather than rich and buttery, providing a nice foil to the lobster.
There are plenty of choices for non-wine drinkers as well, as my friend Mike Kivowitz was quick to remind me. Kivowitz is the founder and president of New Jersey Craft Beer, a 5-year-old organization that promotes the appreciation of artisanal beer. The group's 2,000-plus members enjoy discounts at hundreds of brew pubs, microbreweries, bars and restaurants across the state.
Kivowitz ticked off a dozen lobster-friendly libations from New Jersey-based brewers, including some whose very names bespeak summer at the Shore -- Carton Brewing Co.'s Wit Whale, East Coast Beer Co.'s Beach Haus Pilsner and Kane Brewing Co.'s Head High (surfer speak for the height of a wave). With one or two exceptions, the brews Kivowitz recommends are at the lighter end of the spectrum in terms of color, body and alcohol.
"When I want to eat seafood, I don't want something to overpower the flavors," said Kivowitz, who lives in Manalapan. "Something crisp, refreshing -- airy, if you will -- will work well, but with a little complexity to the flavor."
In addition to the offerings from Carton, East Coast Beer and Kane, he recommends Flounder Brewing Co.'s Saison, Bolero Snort Brewery's Longhop IPA, Village Idiot Brewing Co.'s "Thong Remover" Tripel and Pinelands Brewing Co.'s Pitch Pine Ale. Some are available in bottles or cans, while others can be purchased in a "growler" at the source.
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