The smell is unmistakable: rich, dense yet bright, raisinated but fresh. Is it Amarone? A sip shows that it doesn’t have the requisite heft. But it haunts, a smell like no other. Tasting this wine for the first time blind, with no idea of from when or where it came, I had no clue: Valpolicella. 1999. Giuseppe Quintarelli.

Red wine, high in tannins and iron can often be overpowering, and the lingering taste can mettle with more subtle flavors in fish. One study has found that the iron content in wine actually brings out undesirable flavors in fish, reminiscent of rot. But in many cases throughout one study, researchers paired bold reds and weak seafood: think Bordeaux and scallops.