Seabassfillet

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.

Alsace's quietly delicious supporting grape — light, lemony, faintly herbal, with the structure to handle fish and lighter pork dishes.

France's most coastal serious appellation — vineyards above Nice making whites, reds, and rosés from native grapes. Tiny production, hard to find, increasingly celebrated.

Bordeaux's affordable shadow just to the east — same grape blends, simpler structure, much lower prices. The everyday red of southwest France.

Red · Medium · Dry

Pinot Noir (red) or Chardonnay (white) from the world's most expensive dirt. Translucent, perfumed, ethereal at the top of the hierarchy; honest and pleasant lower down. Drink slowly, with reverence.

Provence's coastal white — Marsanne and Clairette blends from a tiny appellation outside Marseille. Bright, mineral, salt-air-tinged; the bouillabaisse wine.

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.

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.

A broad Provence appellation between the Rhône and the Mediterranean — pale dry rosés, easy reds, the picnic wine of southern France.

Hermitage's affordable shadow — Northern Rhône Syrah grown on the flat lands below the great hill. Bright, peppery, food-friendly; drinks well young.

Provence rosé at its most classic — pale, dry, Mediterranean, with strawberry, citrus, and a saline finish. The wine of Provençal lunches.

A small Southwest French appellation with an outsized range — dry whites from native grapes, traditional-method sparkling, and quietly serious reds. Curious wines, all of them.