Chicken Creme Fraiche

Red · Medium · Dry

Australia's signature red — dense, spice-driven, peppery, often pushing 15% alcohol. Barossa makes it brawniest; McLaren Vale, smokier; Hunter, leaner. Built for the grill.

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.

Pure Syrah from a single granite amphitheater — the wildest, most savage of the Northern Rhône reds. Black olive, blood, iron, and a finish that doesn't let go.

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.