Fresh Fruits

Fortified · Full · Sweet

Sherry's middle path — starts as Fino under flor, ages oxidatively when the flor dies. Hazelnut, salted almond, dried orange peel. Drink with hard cheese or rich stews.

Sparkling · Light · Dry

Piedmont's sweet, low-alcohol sparkler from the Moscato grape — peach, honeysuckle, apricot. Made for dessert or for an afternoon on a hot day.

Roussillon's fortified dessert red — Grenache-based, port-like, with notes of cocoa, walnut, and dried fig. The classic chocolate-dessert pairing.

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.

White · Medium · Dry

Lychee, rose petal, and a touch of ginger; medium-bodied, low-acid, and unmistakable. The wine for any cuisine where the spice cabinet did the heavy lifting.

White · Medium · 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.

Sparkling · Light · Sweet

Asti's more refined sibling — gently frizzante, only 5-6% alcohol, all peach and orange blossom. The perfect summer dessert wine.

The Muscat grape family — covers everything from dry Alsace styles through sweet Beaumes-de-Venise to ancient Greek dessert wines. Always perfumed; always smells like grapes.

Southern Rhône's classic fortified sweet white — Muscat à Petits Grains with peach, orange blossom, honey. Pair with fresh fruit or blue cheese.

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.

Red · Medium · Dry

A catchall for red wine generally — covers everything from a $12 weeknight pour to first-growth Bordeaux. Match the bottle's weight to the food's weight and you'll rarely go wrong.

Dessert · Full · Sweet

Bordeaux's legendary sweet white — Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc hit by noble rot, then patiently fermented. Honey, apricot, candied citrus, and a finish that lasts a small eternity. Pair with foie gras, blue cheese, or a fruit tart.