Oil Fish

White · Light · Dry

Marche's quietly excellent white — apple and almond, a faint bitterness on the finish, and unusual ageability for an Italian white. Try the Castelli di Jesi Riserva.

Works with Oven-poached Fish In Olive Oil · Broiled Fish With Garlic Oil And Dried Chile

White · Light · Dry

Galicia's gift to summer — citrus, peach, salt air, and acid like a knife. Made for shellfish, paella, and any dish that involves the sea.

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.

Sparkling · Light · Dry

California's méthode-traditionnelle sparkling wines — Chardonnay/Pinot Noir-based, brioche-and-citrus, often grown in cool coastal regions. Champagne quality at friendlier prices.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Sparkling · Light · Dry

A traditional-method sparkling wine — fine bubbles, brisk acid, citrus and toast. The all-purpose celebration wine; equally good as an aperitif.

White · Medium · Dry

Sauvignon Blanc from the upper Loire, grown on flint and chalk. Citrus, smoke, and a mineral finish that hints at struck stone. The refined antithesis of New Zealand's tropical SBs.