Chicken Fricassee

White · Medium · Dry

Same grape as Pinot Grigio, different attitude — the Alsatian style is richer, fuller, faintly honeyed, with the structure to handle pork, smoked fish, and Asian aromatics.

Red · Medium · Dry

Burgundy's most temperamental grape, but the rewards are real — translucent ruby with a perfumed lift of red cherry, forest floor, and clove. Silken tannins and bright acid make it the most versatile red on the table; serve cool, around 58°F.

Loire wines from around the city of Angers — Chenin Blanc whites (dry to sweet) and Cabernet Franc rosés. The whites are tremendous values.

Loire wines from around the city of Angers — Chenin Blanc whites (dry to sweet) and Cabernet Franc rosés. The whites are tremendous values.

Loire Cabernet Franc — bigger and more structured than neighboring Chinon, with darker fruit and earthier character. The Cabernet Franc to age.

White · Medium · Dry

Chardonnay grown on Burgundy's chalkiest soils, almost never oaked. Lean, steely, oyster-shell minerality; a wine that tastes like a place. The wine for shellfish, full stop.

Sparkling · Light · Dry

Méthode champenoise from the most chalk-rich corner of France — fine bubbles, brioche, lemon zest, and a finish that goes on for half a minute. The wine for anything fried, salty, or special.

White · Medium · Dry

The most-planted white grape and the most chameleon-like. Crisp and steely from Chablis; rich, oaky, and tropical from California. Read the label, then match the style to the dish.

The Rhône's most famous appellation — up to 13 grape varieties blended into something dense, warm, peppery, and unmistakable. Black cherry, garrigue, leather; built for braised lamb and aged cheese.

Loire Cabernet Franc at its most refined — pencil-shavings, raspberry, and a flint-stone finish. The bistro red of choice; equally good chilled in summer.

A wine outside our reference catalogue — likely a single-producer or single-vineyard bottling. Open with a small pour to assess body and sweetness, then pair to match its weight.

Bordeaux's Right Bank jewel — Merlot-dominated blends on iron-rich clay, producing wines of plush richness and remarkable longevity. The reference for elegant Merlot.