Scallop Scampi

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 Scallop Scampi · Scallops Shrimp Scampi

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 Scallop Scampi · Scallops Shrimp Scampi

White · Light · Dry

California's take — riper than Sancerre, calmer than Marlborough, with grapefruit, melon, and a clean mineral finish. The everyday white that pairs with almost anything green or briny.

Fruit wine made from cherries — sweet, lightly tart, drinks more like a dessert sip than a table wine. Pair with chocolate desserts or aged cheese.

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.

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.

White · Medium · Dry

Burgundy's southernmost serious Chardonnay — sun-soaked, peachy, accessible. The thinking person's value white from the Mâconnais.

White · Light · Dry

Sancerre's cousin across the Loire — Sauvignon Blanc with a smokier, flintier profile. The 'fumé' in the name refers to that struck-match minerality.

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.

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.

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.

Red · Medium · Dry

Spanish table wine, broadly — Tempranillo, Garnacha, or a regional blend. Sun-soaked, food-friendly, increasingly remarkable for the price.