Sicilian

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 Sicilian Olives · Sicilian Chicken · Sicilian Arancine +4 more Sicilian Olives · Sicilian Chicken · Sicilian Arancine · Sicilian Fish Stew · Entre Cote Sicilian · Sweet And Sour Sicilian Chicken · Grilled Scallops Sicilian Style

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 Sicilian Olives · Sicilian Chicken · Sicilian Arancine +4 more Sicilian Olives · Sicilian Chicken · Sicilian Arancine · Siciliana Eggplant · Entre Cote Sicilian · Sicilian Orange, Onion, Salad · Sweet And Sour Sicilian Chicken

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 Sicilian Chicken · Siciliana Eggplant · Sicilian Fish Stew +4 more Sicilian Chicken · Siciliana Eggplant · Sicilian Fish Stew · Sicilian Orange, Onion, Salad · Sweet And Sour Sicilian Chicken · Grilled Scallops Sicilian Style · Sicilian Sausage (with Fennel Seed)

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 Sicilian Olives · Sicilian Chicken · Sicilian Arancine +2 more Sicilian Olives · Sicilian Chicken · Sicilian Arancine · Entre Cote Sicilian · Sweet And Sour Sicilian Chicken

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 Sicilian Olives · Sicilian Arancine · Entre Cote Sicilian +1 more Sicilian Olives · Sicilian Arancine · Entre Cote Sicilian · Sicilian Fish Stew With Tomato And Parsley

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 Sicilian Scampi · Siciliana Eggplant · Sicilian Fish Stew +1 more Sicilian Scampi · Siciliana Eggplant · Sicilian Fish Stew · Sicilian Orange, Onion, Salad

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 Siciliana Eggplant · Sicilian Fish Stew · Grilled Scallops Sicilian Style

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 Sicilian-style Pasta With Sardines · Sicilian Fish Stew With Tomato And Parsley

Sicily's most-planted white — citrus, herb, modest body; the workhorse white that goes with grilled fish across the island.

Red · Medium · Dry

California Merlot, when made well — plummy, supple, with a touch of cocoa and earlier drinkability than its Bordeaux cousins. The unfairly maligned dinner-party red.

White · Light · Off-dry

Washington and Finger Lakes Rieslings split the difference between Mosel delicacy and Alsatian heft — bright stone fruit, modest sweetness, lively acid. A natural with Thai, Indian, and anything off the spice rack.

A regional or producer-specific wine outside our standard reference. Body, acid, and sweetness will tell you most of what you need to know — let the first sip guide the plate.