Taramasalata

Cured cod or grey mullet roe blended with bread, olive oil, lemon, and milk into a pale pink, briny, lemony spread. Trimethylamine rules out oak absolutely.

Pairs Perfectly

Assyrtiko from Santorini, Greece. Volcanic mineral salinity meets the brine of cured fish roe with rare precision, the bone-dry electric acid handles the lemon directly, and the unoaked profile keeps the trimethylamine reaction clean.

Pairs Well

Manzanilla from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain. Flor-aged sherry brings bone-dry briny salinity that mirrors the roe's salt depth, and the savoury yeast complexity meets the meze register beautifully.

Albariño from Rías Baixas, Spain. Atlantic salinity meets the briny fish roe, the saline-stone-fruit-and-acid spine handles the lemon and the bread emulsion.

Worth Seeking Out

Hunter Valley Semillon, New South Wales, Australia. Bone-dry, low-alcohol, with lime-zest and lemongrass profile that meets the lemon and cured fish character with rare precision.

Avoid

Any oaked wine — reacts with the cured fish to produce metallic flavours; tannic reds — clash with the brine; sweet wines — wrong against savoury salt; aromatic whites with rose or lychee — fight the brine.

Failing That

A Picpoul de Pinet, Languedoc.

If All Else Fails

Verdejo, Rueda.

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