Your thoughts…
I think it could work, especially if the tuna is aggressively seasoned with, say, black pepper. I would saute on high heat for a more blackened flavor.
Seared tuna? Like nice and rare, steak-ish? Works shockingly well with many wines.
Or sauteed tuna? Like casserole?
Any oily fish and red wine pairing is doomed unless the fish is so fresh that the flesh is nearly transparent and it has only the smell of a clean sea breeze. Otherwise, pick a white wine, Riesling being the first choice.
As Eric hinted, don’t cook the tuna. Sear the outside.
P Hickner
No, not a casserole. Searing/frying.
IME a dark fish like tuna is unlikely to be transparent. Also, I have a hard time believing there aren’t some good red wine options with a heavy, steakish fish like tuna. But I’m listening 
Jeff -
Seared tune tends to be my preference when I’m on the road as it is healthy and tastes good. I agree with Eric, it pairs well with lots of different wines. Yes, I like it with white wine (Loires) and with champagne, but really dig with with a crisp (not too ripe) Zin or a Beaujolais. I think your intutition with the MaV is dead-on.
believe it. For some people it will be fine, but for those of us who are more sensitive to it, there will always be an off-putting metallic note in the wine because of the fat of the fish. It can be quelled with acid and salt, but when there is a lot of fat like in tuna or salmon, it’s tough to have enough without some kind of sauce. So, some people will tell you it’s a good pairing, but some people will taste terribleness. Each is correct for their own palate. For me, it’s not worth taking the chance when I can just have a white wine. Even if I liked the pairing (I don’t), I’d be concerned that someone I was serving it to would have a bad experience with it. I always find it interesting when things like this get brought up that some people will say that because it works for them, it works for everyone. That is far from the truth.
Well that’s fine, I’m willing to listen to suggestions that might work for me I understand what you mean - we all have our tolerances.
Are you saying there’s something specific about fish oil or fish fat, as opposed to animal fat or fat in general, that brings out this metallic taste for you? Because obviously lots of people drink red wine with food that contains fat (beef, etc.)
I’ve heard it variously blamed on the composition of the fat in the fish or high iodine content, but either way, tannins in red wine react can react with some fish to produce a metallic taste. But a lower-tannin red can definitely work - pinot noir and salmon is one of my favorite pairings. I’ve never personally tried tuna with beaujolais, but the meatiness of the fish sounds to me like it would be great with a light red. You may want to have a backup option, but I say go for it.
Hi Jeff,
I think you could do a very nice pairing with seared Tuna (keep it very red on the inside- don’t overcook it, as it will get tough quickly IME- as Eric cautioned) and a Cru Beaujolais, but if it were me, I would opt for another village than Moulin-a-Vent. Moulin-a-Vent tends to be one of the most black fruity wines of the entire region, and I think that there could be much more interesting Crus to pair up with your tuna that are more red fruity in character. M-a-V also tends to be the most structured and tannic cru in the region, which again is not what I would be looking for to make the pairing really sing. When I saw the title of your post, I thought I would immediatly lean towards more red fruity crus like Morgon, Cote de Brouilly, Brouilly or St. Amour (the Domaine des Billards bottling would be great!), rather than Mouiln-a-Vent. I would want to approach the pairing as I would if I was going to serve a Burgundy with the tuna- red fruity and less tannic stylistically- a Cote de Beaune red like Savigny, Auxey-Duresses or Beaune would be a more appealing option for me than a Nuits St. Georges or the like… If you can find it, a Morgon from Grange-Cochard from 2011 would be a stunning pairing with tuna!
All the Best,
John
I have had the 2011 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso (decanted for 3 hours) with fresh pan seared tuna and a tapenade of sun dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, capers, shallots, a dash of oregano, and lemon juice. It worked very well for me.
Tuna and wine is a difficult combo with reds. Just me I think. I get a metallic taste that I just can’t get around.
Even with other flavors and added acidity with the dish.
I avoid this combination for my own personal taste buds.
I’ve seen the metallic taste ascribed to iodine, but a couple of years ago some Japanese researchers claimed that they could identify copper compounds responsible.
In any case, the less fresh the fish, the more pronounced the taste.
Perhaps transparent is not the exact word to use for the flesh, but if you imagine a continuum from a ruby to an opal you can get what I’m describing. I’d never eat a fish that is getting opalescent, no matter what the preparation or wine pairing.
P Hickner
+1 I’m fortunate to get the freshest big eye ahi at the farmer’s market each Saturday. If you just sear it, Moulin-a-Vent is a pretty good match, although lately I’ve come to prefer a Blanc de Noir sparkling wine – Roederer Estate, for example.
Thank you, I’ll look into those suggestions.
As far as the iodine/metallic thing, I’ve never tasted it, so I supposed I consider myself fortunate and will continue to drink red wine with big fish when I can. I do get the basic concept of things that just don’t work for certain people. I, for example, can’t drink coffee. I like coffee flavored things. However once brewed, I must be super sensitive to something in it because it tastes like nothing more than liquid aspirin to me. I’m happy to brew it for someone else because I kind of like the smell of it.
Never heard of that wine, but the tuna recipe sounds delish.
2011 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso
Yes, it’s specific to fish.
what a great pairing! Even for those insensitive to the metallic thing, I can’t imagine a red working as well as something like this.