Pairing Wine With Haddock

Haddock has a mildly sweet taste, without an overpowering fishy flavor with low levels of oiliness, lean white flesh and medium flakes; the texture is firm but tender after cooking; in comparison to Cod, Haddock has finer flakes and a more tender texture with a sweeter flavor than Cod. There are many ways to cook this fish such as oven bake, steaming, grilling, baking, but pan-frying is probably the best way, skin down.

Haddock is also famously known for being smoked, which is fresh filet that has been smoked over oak and beech wood in a special smoker, which provides the Haddock filet with great smoky flavors and subtle sweetness.

Wine Characteristics To Pair With Haddock

Characteristic	Detail
Sweetness	Dry
Acidity	High
Tannins	Low
Body	Low
Notes	Lemon, Lime, Citrus, Aromatic Varieties

Best White Wines To Pair With Haddock

Haddock has a delicate, subtle flavor, so a white wine with a bright acidity and mineral accent will enhance the taste of the salty fish, while simultaneously cleansing the palate for the pairing to be really refreshing and enjoyable!

Chenin Blanc

Chenin Blanc is a great option to have with Haddock, especially with a white sauce or even when it has been smoked. The wine is light, fresh and dry with delicate floral notes that pair well with mild fish or seafood dishes; paired wonderfully when the haddock has been baked or grilled and served with a creamy white sauce. Chenin Blanc that is sometimes seen in oak pairs wonderfully with smoked haddock as the flavors of the toastiness of the barrel mimics the smokiness of the fish. Devine!

Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc has wonderful crisp notes of grapefruit and passionfruit and is often super citrusy, making the pair with haddock a great one! It is not a complicated wine and its fruity flavors with high acidity lets the haddock shine!

Chablis

Chablis is a dry white wine made from Chardonnay grapes in northern Burgundy, France. It is a dry white wine made from chardonnay and the wine sees very little to no oak influence so the purity and expression of the grape is at show. This wine has notes of citrus, white flower, pear, minerality and salinity with higher acidity than other white wines and has a mineral/saline quality that makes it perfect with a fresh pan seared cod.

Best Red WinesTo Pair With Haddock

Red wines are tricky to pair with delicate fish like Haddock. This is because tannins can be far too harsh and overpowering. However reds with a lighter style to them and low tannin levels make lovely pairings with Haddock!

Zweigelt

Zweigelt is one of those rare reds that pair well with fish such as Haddock. The variety won’t overwhelm the food, as it has low alcohol and subtle tannins with high acidity, which makes it approachable for Haddock. Zweigelt grape is a crossing between Blaufrankisch and St. Laurent, it is a variety in Austria and accounts for half of the country’s red wine production. As said, it has light, fresh and simple nuanced flavors making it ideal to pair with a fish like Haddock.

Best Wines To Pair With Haddock

Haddock has a few different wines that can be a good match; for a lighter haddock dish a fragrant white is a good choice, however if the fish is in richer flavors such as a cream sauce or smoked haddock, then heavy oaked bodied white is a good option. What to avoid for this dish is super big, powerful wines with big intensity and high tannin levels, as these wines are made to age in barrels and will have time to develop flavors, this is way too overpowering for a dish as delicate as haddock. However if your haddock is in a spicy red sauce the pairing of light red wine is possible!