What to drink with cod ?
What to Drink with Salt Cod?
Guilherme Corrêa Dip WSET
Salt cod is arguably the great star of traditional Portuguese cuisine. When we think of a single dish that evokes a country — like feijoada in Brazil, pasta in Italy or paella in Spain — what comes to mind for me is a thick, noble loin of cod, breaking into gelatin-lined flakes, submerged in generous olive oil perfumed with garlic.
Tradition in Portugal often pairs bacalhau with red wine. But what does wine and food pairing technique actually tell us? How can we honour this iconic dish without compromising that special bottle we plan to open on Christmas Eve?
At the end of the day, everyone drinks what they enjoy. But from a technical standpoint, it must be said clearly: salt cod and red wine rarely work.
Many Recipes, One Fundamental Principle
The versatility of Gadus morhua, Atlantic cod, is extraordinary. Consumed in Portugal since the 14th century, it appears today in countless traditional recipes. The fish is soaked, then baked, grilled, fried, poached, stewed or even served “raw” after curing.
Olive oil, garlic, onions, potatoes, eggs, legumes, cream, greens, olives, rice, bread, peppers — these companions repeat themselves across generations.
We could list Bacalhau à Brás, oven-roasted cod, Bacalhau com Natas or Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá and suggest a specific wine for each. But the goal here is different: to demonstrate that regardless of preparation, the fundamental characteristics of salt cod remain constant — and these characteristics dictate the rules of the pairing.
The Prince of Cold Seas: Salt, Umami and Iodine
Structure and Fat Content
Salt cod contains more than 20% protein, further concentrated through curing. Its fat content is extremely low, around 1%, mostly healthy polyunsaturated omega-3.
Unlike fatty fish such as sardine, salmon or tuna, salt cod does not require high acidity or carbonation to “cut” fat. The logic here is reversed.
Salinity and Wine Balance
Curing concentrates sodium within the fish’s tissues. Even properly soaked, bacalhau remains intensely saline. According to classic pairing principles, when salt dominates a dish, the wine must provide softness — alcohol, glycerol and, occasionally, residual sugar.
Salt demands comfort.
Umami and the Amplification of Hardness
Salt cod is also a powerful source of umami. The curing process concentrates inosinate naturally present in fresh cod.
Umami has a very specific effect on wine: it amplifies tannins, acidity and bitterness while muting fruit and perceived softness. Wines already structured around firmness will become even harsher alongside bacalhau.
Iodine: The Real Challenge
But the decisive factor is iodine. Just 100 grams of salt cod provide approximately 120 micrograms of iodine — close to an adult’s daily requirement.
Nutritionally excellent, but devastating for tannins.
Iodine reacts with phenolic compounds and transforms even soft tannins into metallic, drying sensations. Any wine fermented with skin contact — in other words, virtually all red wines — is at serious risk.
Why Salt Cod Destroys Red Wine
The Rufete Test
For this article, I opened a delicate Rufete from Beira Interior — Portugal’s elegant answer to refined Pinot Noir or subtle Beaujolais. It accompanied a large loin of cod gently confited in olive oil.
The result was predictable. The wine became thin, harsh and metallic. Tannins that once felt silky turned austere and angular. A failed marriage.
If a light, refined Rufete fails, a structured red from Douro or Alentejo will fail even more dramatically.
The Amphora White Test
The second wine was an Alentejo amphora white with structure and depth. Yet its phenolic grip, derived from skin contact, was amplified by iodine. The wine lost fruit and balance, turning drying and metallic.
Another unsuccessful pairing.
Does Freshness and Minerality Solve the Problem?
Today’s global trend favours freshness, tension and minerality in white wines. Yet this profile can struggle with salt cod.
Salt requires softness.
Umami amplifies hardness.
If the wine already leans toward tension and sharp acidity, imbalance is inevitable.
The third test, a high-altitude Douro white known for its freshness and schist-driven minerality, became overly sharp and rigid with the cod. The balance collapsed.
Salt cod does not need tension. It needs comfort.
Great Whites, Great Pairings
The fourth wine provided revelation: a mature Alentejo white from a previous era — structured, generous, textural and alcohol-driven.
Alongside the cod, the wine found harmony.
Alcohol and glycerol softened the salinity.
Umami revealed structure without exaggerating harshness.
Iodine found no aggressive phenolics to attack.
A perfect alignment.
Powerful Antão Vaz from Alentejo, richer styles of Encruzado from Dão, generous Viognier from Lisbon or textured Fernão Pires can all perform beautifully — provided their balance is not dominated by razor-sharp acidity or austere minerality.
There is another crucial factor: most cod recipes include abundant olive oil. For liquid vegetable fat, alcohol — not acidity — provides the balancing element.
Everything converges toward the same principle:
With salt cod, choose softness over tension.
A white wine that is generous, rounded and comforting — much like the Christmas Eve table itself, where bacalhau is indispensable.