Warm Spinach Salad

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.

Works with Warm Spinach Salad · Warm Tomato Spinach Salad · Warm Spinach And Sausage Salad

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 Warm Spinach Salad With Bacon · Warm Spinach Salad With Hot Bacon Dressing

Red · Full · Dry

Argentina's signature grape: deep purple, plummy, and remarkably smooth for its weight. Soft tannins and a touch of cocoa make it the dinner-party Cabernet alternative — and far easier on the wallet.

Works with Warm Spinach Salad With Bacon · Warm Spinach Salad With Hot Bacon Dressing

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 Warm Spinach Salad With Bacon · Warm Spinach Salad With Hot Bacon Dressing

Red · Full · Dry

Shiraz's more reserved European cousin — Northern Rhône style, all violets, black olive, and white pepper. Less brawn, more poise; pairs as well with lamb as with peppered duck breast.

Works with Warm Spinach Salad With Bacon · Warm Spinach Salad With Hot Bacon Dressing

White · Light · Dry

California's take — riper than Sancerre, calmer than Marlborough, with grapefruit, melon, and a clean mineral finish. The everyday white that pairs with almost anything green or briny.

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 · Medium · Dry

Burgundy's southernmost serious Chardonnay — sun-soaked, peachy, accessible. The thinking person's value white from the Mâconnais.

White · Light · Dry

Sancerre's cousin across the Loire — Sauvignon Blanc with a smokier, flintier profile. The 'fumé' in the name refers to that struck-match minerality.

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.

Red · Full · Dry

California's brawler — jammy blackberry, brambly spice, and 15% alcohol that hides behind the fruit. Built for ribs, brisket, and anything that came off a grill.