Kakavia

The Greek fisherman's stew, the original version of bouillabaisse — mixed white fish, shellfish, and crustacean cooked simply in seawater with olive oil, lemon, onion, and tomato, finished with fresh parsley. Trimethylamine rules out oak absolutely.

Pairs Perfectly

Assyrtiko from Santorini, Greece. Volcanic mineral salinity meets the seafood broth ingredient by ingredient, the bone-dry electric acid handles lemon and the fish stock cleanly, and the unoaked profile keeps the trimethylamine reaction clean.

Pairs Well

Albariño from Rías Baixas, Spain. Atlantic salinity meets the seafood broth, saline-stone-fruit-and-acid spine handles the lemon and the mixed fish.

Vinho Verde from Monção e Melgaço, Portugal. Alvarinho-led Vinho Verde brings sharper saline-citric character, and the slight petillance lifts the dish.

Worth Seeking Out

Manzanilla from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain. Flor-aged sherry brings bone-dry briny salinity and savoury yeast depth that meets a fisherman's stew with rare analytical precision.

Avoid

Any oaked wine — reacts with seafood; tannic reds — clash; sweet wines — wrong against savoury fish; aromatic whites with rose or lychee — fight the clean broth.

Failing That

A Picpoul de Pinet, Languedoc.

If All Else Fails

Verdejo, Rueda.

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