Skate wing

Skate wing

Assuming skate wing pan fried and served with brown butter, capers and lemon.

Skate is sweet and soft, but brown butter makes the dish rich and nutty, and capers and lemon make it sharp. The wine needs high acidity to match the capers and cut the butter, and a nutty or honeyed note to meet the brown butter. New oak and tannin turn metallic against fish.

Pairs Perfectly. Chenin Blanc, dry, Vouvray, Loire, France. Apple, quince and a hint of honey on firm acidity, sharp enough for capers and rich enough for brown butter.

Pairs Well. Riesling, Rheingau, Germany, dry. Lemon, apple and a firm line of acidity with a little weight, clean against butter and capers, and inexpensive.

Pairs Well. Godello from Valdeorras, Spain. Pear, citrus and a gently nutty, rounded texture, a Galician white that suits rich fish.

Worth Seeking Out

Vin Jaune from the Jura, France. Dry, nutty and tangy after years under a film of yeast, an unusual but exact match for brown butter.

Avoid

Heavily oaked whites and reds. New oak and tannin turn metallic against fish, and oak makes the butter heavy.

Failing That

A Soave Classico, Veneto, Italy.

If All Else Fails

Picpoul de Pinet, Languedoc.

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