Mushroom Soup Sherry

Red · Medium · Dry

California and Oregon's answer to Burgundy — riper, more upfront fruit than the French original, with cherry, raspberry, and gentle oak. Sonoma and Willamette set the standard.

White · Medium · Dry

American Bordeaux-style blend — must use the traditional Bordeaux grape varieties. The flag for serious New World red blending; varies wildly in style.

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.

White · Light · Dry

Italy's everyday white — light, lemony, neutral by design. Pleasant with anything; profound with very little. The best Friuli bottles are quietly excellent.

Red · Light · 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.

Rosé · Light · Dry

Provence's gift to summer — dry, pale, faintly strawberry-and-citrus, with low alcohol and crisp acid. Made to drink cold, with food, in the shade.

White · Light · Dry

Citrus, cut grass, and a wire of acid. Marlborough makes it loudest; Sancerre makes it most refined. Either way, it cuts cleanly through goat cheese, herbs, and anything with shellfish.

Fortified · Full · Sweet

Spanish table wine, broadly — Tempranillo, Garnacha, or a regional blend. Sun-soaked, food-friendly, increasingly remarkable for the price.