Oysters with gazpacho and godello

I love oysters but generally find myself ordering the usual suspects with it from a wine list so am also super-pleased to find a new pairing.

This was a godello/treixadura blend from Valdeorras I cam across at a newish Spanish seafood bar called Maresco in Soho. It’s called Louro do Bolo and was made by the masterly Rafael Palacios who always manages to achieve a wonderful precision in his wines. Godello can be and often is rich and buttery, especially when it’s oaked and I don’t think that style would go too well with oysters especially this way of serving them with a light fresh gazpacho-like dressing (which was amazingly delicious) You wouldn’t have wanted too much upfront fruit in it either - albarino or alvarinho are other saline wines that would have worked

If you’d like to try the wine it’s sold by London End Wines, who also have a good description of Palacios’ approach to winemaking at £20.49 and Palmers Wine Store in Bridport in Dorset at £22.

Maresco which is just off Oxford Street on the corner of Berwick Street is a bit of a find. There was a great review of it by Grace Dent in the Guardian the other day.

For other oyster pairings see the best wine - and other - pairings with oysters

Oysters and a Half Shell Gin martini

Having always understood you shouldn’t drink spirits with oysters I was surprised to come across the recommendation from oyster specialist Wright Brothers of accompanying them with a gin martini made from their Half Shell gin.

The gin which has been distilled with Carlingford oyster shells, kelp seaweed and Amalfi lemon is unusual enough - not exactly oystery but certainly saline - but was even better served straight from the freezer with a dash of Aecorn Dry an alcohol-free aperitif which slightly reduced the 42% alcohol of the gin while adding an intriguing herbal, borderline woody note to the martini.

The main thing though is that it was utterly dry which is what you want if you’re eating oysters unadorned or with just a small squeeze of lemon. I only used it because I didn’t have any dry vermouth to hand and I’m not sure it would have worked any better. (Incidentally I tried the gin as a G & T with the oysters too and it didn’t work half as well. The tonic really tasted quite intrusively sweet.

I wouldn't say the gin went better with one type of oyster than another really, just any good oysters you can get your hands on!

Oh, and no alarming after-effects!

You can buy the gin - and oysters - from the Wright Brothers website for £36 a 50cl bottle (it comes in a rather handsome tube) and from their restaurants.

In the light of this I may have to revise my post on oyster pairing The Best Wine (and other) pairings with oysters but you'll hopefully find some other useful suggestions there.

I was sent the gin and the oysters by Wright Brothers

Oysters and dry German riesling

I don't normally think of pairing raw oysters with riesling - even dry ones seem too sweet but I came across a combination last week at the newly opened Magpie in London that worked brilliantly.

The reason was that the oysters were served with diced apple and chicharron (pork crackling), two ingredients that are massively riesling-friendly - the apple because it mimics the flavours, the pork as a perfect savoury contrast.

The riesling was a 2014 Schloss Marienlay from Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt in the Mosel - fresh, bright and appley itself (trocken I'm guessing) and available on tap at the very reasonable price of £5 a glass.

It also worked really well with a pretty dish of trout, grapes and quinoa

For other oyster pairings see

Best matches with oysters

Oysters and Tasmanian fizz

I’m not a big fan of champagne with raw oysters. Most have a level of dosage (added sugar) that tastes even sweeter when you pair them with a briny mollusc but Tasmanian sparkling wine is different

First of all their oysters are amazing so I’ve been seizing every conceivable opportunity to eat them (every day of my visit so far!) And the sparkling wine is spectacular - with an incredible freshness due to the high level of acidity. When dosage levels are kept low it makes a perfect pairing with an unadorned oyster. No need for a squeeze of lemon - the wine does the job - and with so much more elegance.

The wine that kicked off this train of thought was the Moorilla Extra Brut methode traditionelle which you don’t seem to be able to find in the UK but the Josef Chromy which is currently on promotion at Marks & Spencer for £16.50 a bottle would do the trick

Oysters are however served in many different ways here in Tassie - often with Asian style dressings and here another wine comes into play - the local Tasmanian rieslings which have a lovely streak of lime and green apple acidity to them. That would be a treat too.

Here are some other good matches with oysters

Best matches with oysters