Peanuts

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.

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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 Peanuts · Roasted Peanuts · Chicken With Peanuts +3 more Peanuts · Roasted Peanuts · Chicken With Peanuts · Spicy Chicken Peanuts · Spicy Chicken With Peanuts · Grilled Shrimp With Avocado, Pineapple And Peanuts

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 Peanuts · Roasted Peanuts · Chicken With Peanuts +2 more Peanuts · Roasted Peanuts · Chicken With Peanuts · Spicy Chicken Peanuts · Spicy Chicken With Peanuts

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 Chicken With Peanuts · Spicy Chicken Peanuts · Spicy Chicken With Peanuts +2 more Chicken With Peanuts · Spicy Chicken Peanuts · Spicy Chicken With Peanuts · Nuts (almonds Walnuts Hazelnuts Peanuts) · Grilled Shrimp With Avocado, Pineapple And Peanuts

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.

Works with Peanuts · Roasted Peanuts · Grilled Shrimp With Avocado, Pineapple And Peanuts

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 Nuts (almonds Walnuts Hazelnuts Peanuts) · Grilled Shrimp With Avocado, Pineapple And Peanuts

White · Light · Off-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.

Works with Spicy Chicken Peanuts · Spicy Chicken With Peanuts

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.

Red · Light · Dry

Gamay-based reds from southern Burgundy — light, fruity, food-friendly. The serious Cru bottlings (Morgon, Fleurie, Moulin-à-Vent) drink like Pinot Noir at half the price.

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.

White · Medium · Off-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.

Fortified · Full · Sweet

Portuguese island wine that gets better the more it's mistreated — heated, aged, oxidized into nutty, caramel-tinged immortality. Drink Sercial dry as an aperitif; Bual or Malmsey with dessert.