We like culinary rules because they guide us and help preserve order. But every rule comes with valid exceptions. For example: white wine with fish, red wine with meat. Good rule, but only to a point. Salmon has enough body and earthiness to justify both the rule and the exceptions.
Whether your tastes lean to red or white, with a versatile food like salmon, you can be dynamic and choose a recipe (or “wine-tune” one) to align with your wine preference. Along with looking for wines that are similar in body or “weight” to the food, this set of recipes encourages you to explore some other guidelines for wine-and-food pairing, including working with complementary or contrasting flavors to emphasize certain characteristics in the food or wine, matching the wine with the sauce, cooking with the same wine you’ll be drinking (or vice versa) and pairing food with a wine from the same region.
What White Wine Goes Best with Salmon?
Crispy Salmon with Melted Leeks and Beurre Blanc
The classic French sauce for rich salmon is a similarly creamy beurre blanc (butter and white wine) with a bright lemon lift. At Russell and Desta Klein’s Meritage in St. Paul, the fish is presented simply, with melted leeks for a mild onion kick. The skin side of the salmon is crisped for a nice textural contrast.
The Flavors and Texture of the Food
Because of its meaty, lightly earthy flavors, salmon is often seen as the fish for people who don’t like fish. In this dish, the sauce is a textural match of “like to like,” with light lemon and leek accents.
Winning White Wine Pairing: White Burgundy
Use the like-to-like trick for wine too, by choosing a rich, medium- to full-bodied, creamy Chardonnay from France’s Burgundy region, with balanced oak and a little apple or citrus acidity to sing along with what’s on the plate. You could sub in a Chard from elsewhere (it’s grown all over the world, from California to Australia) but avoid heavily oaked versions, which can overwhelm the dish’s relatively mild, direct flavors.
Our Editors' Recommended White Burgundy Wines
• The J.-A. Ferret Pouilly-Fuissé 2020 (90 points, $64) is delicate, yet vibrant, marked by citrus and spice aromas and flavors.
• The Louis Latour Pouilly-Vinzelles En Paradis 2021 (89, $40) veers riper and fuller, with peach, lemon cake and vanilla, flecked with mineral and spice notes.
• The Albert Bichot Bourgogne Côte d'Or White Secret de Famille 2021 (88, $38) is firm and long, with apple, lemon and stony flavors.
Find more recently rated white Burgundies in our Wine Ratings Search.
How to Make Crispy Salmon with Melted Leeks and Beurre Blanc
Recipe courtesy of chef Russell Klein
Ingredients
For the leeks:
- 3 to 4 pounds (about 3 large) leeks
- 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
- 1 sprig thyme
- 4 sprigs parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon chopped thyme
- Salt and white pepper
For the beurre blanc:
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon minced shallot
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- Salt and white pepper
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon lemon juice
For the salmon:
- 4 skin-on salmon fillets, 6 ounces each
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons canola oil or your favorite neutral cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (reserved in separate halves)
- 1 tablespoon minced shallot (reserved in separate halves)
- 1 teaspoon chopped thyme (reserved in separate halves)
- Salt and white pepper
Preparation
1. Trim the leeks of their dark green outer leaves; these can be used for stocks or discarded. Halve leeks lengthwise, then slice 1/8-inch thick. Place leeks in a bowl of cold water and agitate, letting any dirt sink to the bottom. Repeat if needed. Drain and lightly pat dry. (It’s OK if some moisture remains.)
2. Using kitchen twine, tie the thyme, parsley sprigs and bay leaf into a bouquet garni. In a medium saucepot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the leeks and season with salt and a bit of pepper. Add the bouquet garni. Stir the leeks to coat in butter, turn heat to low and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until leeks are very tender, about 45 minutes. Add the chopped thyme and salt to taste. The leeks can be made in advance and reheated.
3. Place the wine and shallot in a small saucepot. Boil until the wine is reduced to 1 to 2 tablespoons. Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat, let sit for 1 minute, and whisk in 1 cube butter. Return the pot to stovetop over low heat. Add 1 cube butter at a time, whisking constantly to form a smooth emulsion. Do not allow the sauce to boil. Once an emulsion has formed, you can add the butter a few cubes at a time, continuing to whisk constantly. When all the butter is incorporated, season with salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste. You can strain the shallots out or leave them in for texture. Set aside in a warm but not hot place, covered.
4. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Pat the skin of the salmon fillets dry. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Place an oven-safe nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Dust the skin side of 2 fillets with the flour. Add 1 tablespoon canola oil to the hot pan and immediately add the 2 floured fillets, skin-side down. Lower heat to medium and cook for about 4 minutes, until the skin begins to brown. Transfer skillet to the oven and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the flesh begins to turn opaque. Return the skillet to the stove and add half the butter, shallot and thyme. When the butter has begun to melt, tip the pan and use a spoon to baste the fish with the cooking liquid for about 30 seconds. Flip the salmon and “kiss” the flesh side to the pan for about 10 seconds, then transfer to a warm plate and cover loosely. Carefully wipe out the skillet and repeat this step with the remaining 2 fillets.
6. Place a generous 1/2 cup of melted leeks in the center of each plate. Place the salmon on the leeks and pour beurre blanc around the fish. Serves 4.
What Red Wine Goes Best with Salmon?
Wild Salmon Tournedos with Caramelized Turnips and Pinot Noir Sauce
Here we make an about face, building a salmon dish around a red wine match. French-born chef Thierry Rautureau, formerly of Rover’s and other restaurants in Seattle (he sadly passed away in 2023), started with a fish stock and Pinot Noir reduction to build a bridge to the glass.
The Flavors of the Food
In this case, the sauce takes the protein in a new direction while also providing a direct link to the wine; the wine match is built in. The turnips provide a lightly sweet and minerally counterpoint.
Winning Red Wine Pairing: Pinot Noir
Perhaps the clearest, most direct matches are those in which the same wine used in the dish is poured alongside it. Pinot Noir—which produces a medium-bodied, not very tannic wine with moderate acidity—is a leading grape in the Pacific Northwest, so Rautureau went with an Oregon wine for his wild Pacific salmon.
While Pinots from California tend to be riper, fruitier and fuller than those from Burgundy, Oregon wines often strike a balance between those two styles. The wines are substantial enough to stand up to the rich salmon meat (and vice versa) without overwhelming it. (However, steer away from bigger, more tannic styles such as young Cabernet Sauvignon.)
Our Editors' Recommended Pinot Noir Wines
• The Argyle Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Estate Reserve 2022 (93 points, $40) is rich but refined, with berry flavors joined by notes of spice and earth.
• The Bethel Heights Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills Estate 2022 (92, $36) is driven by acidity, which carries the berry and spice flavors.
• The Soter Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Planet Oregon 2022 (90, $24) is vibrant and zesty, with cherry, pomegranate, tea and spice flavors.
Find more Oregon Pinot Noir reviews at our Wine Rating Search.
How to Make Wild Salmon Tournedos with Caramelized Turnips and Pinot Noir Sauce
Ingredients
- 1-pound wild king salmon fillet, skin, pin bones and dark flesh removed
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper
- 12 ounces small turnips, peeled
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, 4 of them cut into pieces and chilled
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 bottle of Pinot Noir
- 1/2 cup fish stock, vegetable stock or bottled clam juice
- 4 shallots, chopped
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 1 fresh bay leaf, partly torn
Preparation
1. Place the salmon on a board, with the thinner belly side of the fillet on the right. Butterfly the salmon with a slender, sharp knife, by cutting into the fillet about halfway between the highest point and the bottom on the belly side. Cut horizontally toward the opposite, thicker, side of the fillet. Stop about half an inch from the end, and unfold, making one long piece of roughly even thickness.
2. Turn the fillet piece over so that the cut surface now faces down, and so that the fillet points away from you lengthwise. Starting at the bottom, roll the fillet up to the midpoint where there is a natural break that, with minimal effort, separates the fillet into two pieces.
3. Set aside the first piece and repeat with the remaining piece. Set the two cylinders on the work surface, seam-side down. Using kitchen string, securely tie each cylinder twice so that when each cylinder is cut in half, the string will be in the middle of each of 4 tournedos. Trim the ends of the cylinder, if necessary, to make them even, then cut each cylinder in half. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until you have prepared the sauce and it has reached a boil.
4. Halve or quarter any larger turnips, if needed, to create relatively even sizes. Put 2 tablespoons of the unchilled butter in a medium skillet and cook over medium heat until foamy. Add the turnips, with a good pinch each of salt and pepper, and toss well. Cook for about 2 minutes, then sprinkle the sugar over and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the turnips are tender and nicely caramelized, 3 to 5 minutes longer. Set aside in the skillet to reheat before serving.
5. For the sauce, combine the wine, stock, shallots, thyme and bay leaf in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and reduce by three-quarters, about 30 minutes. Strain the sauce into a small saucepan. Just before serving, gently whisk in the chilled butter, one piece at a time, so that it melts into a creamy sauce. Keep warm in a water bath over very low heat.
6. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
7. Put the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a 9-inch, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat until the butter turns medium-brown, with a slightly nutty aroma. Add the salmon and cook until nicely browned, but no more than 2 minutes total. Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook until the salmon is medium-rare, 2 to 3 minutes.
8. Put the salmon on a warm plate and remove the strings with a sharp knife or scissors. Warm the caramelized turnips over medium heat. Place the turnips just off-center in each of 4 plates. Lean the salmon against the turnips, and spoon the sauce around the salmon. Serve warm. Serves 4.
More Wines to Try with Salmon
• Matches for grilled salmon: Red, rosé, sparkling and white wines
• Matches for salmon in light to medium sauces: White wines
• Matches for salmon in rich sauces: Red and white wines
More Salmon Recipes to Pair with Chardonnay
• Roast Salmon with Fennel and Charred Onion Sauce
• Roasted King Salmon and Crayfish Butter
More Salmon Recipes to Pair with Pinot Noir
• Baked Salmon Three Ways
Changing up the glaze on salmon can point the fish toward Pinot Noirs from different parts of the world, each with its own personality. Try blackberry glaze with a California Pinot Noir, mushroom glaze with an Oregon Pinot Noir and miso glaze with a red Burgundy.
