Black Bean Stew

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 Black Bean Stew · Black Bean Stew Coriander

Red · Medium · 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 Brazilian Black Bean Stew · Portuguese Black Bean Stew

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 Black Bean Stew · Black Bean Stew Coriander

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 Black Bean Stew · Black Bean Stew Coriander

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 Black Bean Stew · Black Bean Stew Coriander

Fortified · Medium · Dry

Andalusia's fortified white — runs from bone-dry Fino through nutty Amontillado to syrupy PX. The dry styles pair brilliantly with tapas; the sweet ones replace dessert entirely.

Works with Black Bean Stew · Black Bean Stew Coriander

White · Full · Dry

California's flagship white — rounder, riper, and oakier than the Old World original, with tropical fruit, butter, and vanilla. Sonoma Coast and Sta. Rita Hills bottlings are leaner; Napa stays plush.

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.

Red · Medium · Dry

Chile's reds — Cabernet, Merlot, Carménère, blends — riper than Bordeaux, less brawny than Napa, often great value with notable green-pepper character.

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.

Sicily's traditional white — lemon, almond, salt; light and food-friendly, the everyday Mediterranean white.

Red · Medium · Dry

A medium-bodied dry red in the European tradition — bright red fruit, soft tannins, and a savory finish. The everyday house wine of much of southern Europe.