Steamed Crab Legs

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.

Works with Steamed Crab Legs · Steamed King Crab Legs

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 Steamed Crab Legs · Steamed King Crab Legs

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 Steamed Crab Legs · Steamed King Crab Legs

White · Light · Dry

Galicia's gift to summer — citrus, peach, salt air, and acid like a knife. Made for shellfish, paella, and any dish that involves the sea.

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.

White · Light · Off-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.