Poached Lobster

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 Poached Maine Lobster · Butter Poached Lobster · Poached Lobster With Remoulade

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 Poached Maine Lobster · Butter Poached Lobster · Poached Lobster With Remoulade

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 Butter Poached Lobster · Poached Lobster With Remoulade

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 Poached Maine Lobster · Vanilla Poached Lobster

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 Butter Poached Lobster · Poached Lobster With Remoulade

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.

The Rhône's most famous appellation — up to 13 grape varieties blended into something dense, warm, peppery, and unmistakable. Black cherry, garrigue, leather; built for braised lamb and aged cheese.

White · Light · 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.

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.