Whitebait

Whitebait

Whitebait are tiny fish fried whole and eaten in one bite, salty, oily and crisp, with lemon and often tartare sauce. The wine must be sharp enough to cut the frying fat, clean and salty to suit the sea, and entirely unoaked, since oily fish and oak turn metallic together. Light, bone dry and bracing wines suit it best.

Pairs Perfectly. Manzanilla, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain. Bone dry, salty and light, grown by the sea and drunk along that coast with little fried fish. Its tang cuts the oil and matches the lemon, and a bottle costs little.

Pairs Well. Txakoli from the Basque country, Spain. Bone dry, faintly spritzy and searingly fresh, poured with fried fish all along that coast.

Pairs Well. Dry Riesling, Mosel, Germany. Lime and slate on high acidity and low alcohol, a clean cut through the crisp coating.

Worth Seeking Out

Treixadura from Ribeiro, Spain. A Galician white, fresh and faintly floral with good texture, for whitebait with aioli.

Avoid

Oaked whites and red wine. Oily fish and oak or tannin together taste metallic, and neither helps a fried coating.

Failing That

A Vermentino, Sardinia, Italy.

If All Else Fails

Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough.

Want to be able to craft answers like this? The Vinealto Wine Coach takes you from the basics to advanced.