Rillettes

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.

Works with Duck Rillettes · Trout Rillettes · Goose Rillettes +3 more Duck Rillettes · Trout Rillettes · Goose Rillettes · Salmon Rillettes · Spicy Tuna Rillettes · Rillettes, Cornichons And Toasted Baguettes

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.

Works with Pork Rillettes · Duck Rillettes · Spicy Tuna Rillettes +2 more Pork Rillettes · Duck Rillettes · Spicy Tuna Rillettes · Smoked Pork Rillettes · Rillettes, Cornichons And Toasted Baguettes

Burgundy's everyday white — clean, lemony, unoaked Chardonnay built for weeknight drinking. Mâcon-Villages bottlings step up the seriousness.

Works with Pork Rillettes · Trout Rillettes · Salmon Rillettes

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.

Works with Spicy Tuna Rillettes · Smoked Pork Rillettes · Rillettes, Cornichons And Toasted Baguettes

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.

Works with Duck Rillettes · Spicy Tuna Rillettes · Smoked Trout Rillettes

Red · Full · Dry

The benchmark for full-bodied red — structured, age-worthy, unapologetic. Black currant, graphite, and tobacco lead into firm tannins that demand protein on the plate. Decant young bottles; cellar the serious ones.

Works with Pork Rillettes · Smoked Pork Rillettes

White · Light · Dry

The Loire's seaside white — Melon de Bourgogne grape, bone-dry, slightly briny, perfectly transparent. The platonic ideal of oyster wine.

Works with Pork Rillettes · Trout Rillettes

White · Light · Dry

Sauvignon Blanc from the upper Loire, grown on flint and chalk. Citrus, smoke, and a mineral finish that hints at struck stone. The refined antithesis of New Zealand's tropical SBs.

Works with Rillettes · Pork Rillettes

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.

White · Medium · Dry

Aromatic, racy, and shapeshifting — bone-dry in Alsace, off-dry on the Mosel, syrupy and ageless when late-harvested. The single most versatile wine for spicy food on earth.

A wine without a curated reference in our library. Pour a small glass to gauge style, then pair confidently with what the weight and sweetness suggest.

Provence's most serious red — Mourvèdre-dominated, structured, savory, with notes of black olive, leather, and Mediterranean herb. The age-worthy alternative to a southern Rhône.