Mussels and chips is one of the favorite dishes of the French. Some prefer to accompany this dish with a beer, others with a dry and lively white wine. There are many possibilities available to you, and we are here to guide you. Here’s an overview of the classic wine pairings with mussels and chips, as well as some more unique pairings.
From the classic moules marinière made with white wine, to mussels with maroilles sauce, and even mussels with chorizo, we have put together a list of outstanding white wines to enhance your meal. For a classic pairing, look for freshness and minerality. For spicier pairings, opt for more robust grape varieties like Marsanne or Albarino.
What to drink with mussels marinière?
To complement the briny and juicy side of mussels, we recommend fresh and lively wines. To start, a Muscadet, which always pairs well with seafood, providing a nice tension and salinity that will delight your taste buds:
Domaine Pierre Prieur - Sancerre Blanc Domaine De Saint-Pierre - 2021
Discover the fruit of a sublime terroir with this vintage! Let yourself be surprised by the vivacity and richness of this Sancerre.
It will be appreciated in its youth or after a few years.
Loire white wines, and especially the freshness of a Sauvignon, pair wonderfully with mussels:
What to drink with more original mussels and chips (chorizo, maroilles, etc.)?
It is possible to stray from the beaten path with less conventional pairings depending on the variations of your dish. If you wish to enhance your mussels with a sauce or chorizo, the wine should increase in intensity, with more aromas and roundness.
Wine for spicy mussels
With a spicy sauce, allow yourself to be pleasantly surprised by an Alsace white wine, such as a Riesling, for its fruity notes and beautiful tension:
Wine for mussels with chorizo
With mussels and chorizo, go for wines with a tangy freshness, like the superb Languedoc cuvée Albarino from Domaine Laurent Miquel. Albarino is a grape variety native to the region with notes of yellow fruit, somewhere between Sauvignon and Viognier.
Wine for mussels with Maroilles cheese
For Ch’ti mussels in a Maroilles sauce, opt for a wine that is rounder and fatter, while retaining its minerality:
