Emu

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 Emu · Halibut With An Oyster Emulsion · Ahi Tuna With Tomato Sauce Emulsion

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 Halibut With An Oyster Emulsion · Ahi Tuna With Tomato Sauce Emulsion

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 Emu · Ahi Tuna With Tomato Sauce Emulsion

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 Emu · Ahi Tuna With Tomato Sauce Emulsion

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 Halibut With An Oyster Emulsion · Ahi Tuna With Tomato Sauce Emulsion

Sparkling · Light · Dry

Spain's traditional-method sparkling, made in Catalunya. Crisper and chalkier than Prosecco; remarkable value next to Champagne. Pair with jamón, tortilla, and grilled vegetables.

White · Light · Dry

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

Red · Full · Dry

The grape behind Barolo and Barbaresco — pale ruby in the glass but ferocious on the palate. Rose, tar, dried cherry, and tannins that need time. Old-school greatness.

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.

An Australian crossing — light-bodied red built for early drinking. Cherry, soft tannins, low alcohol. The Aussie answer to Beaujolais Nouveau.