Summer Salad

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 Summer Salad · Strawberry-cranberry Summer Salad · Shaved Summer Squash Salad Served With A Parmesan Gruyere'

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 Summer Salad · Strawberry-cranberry Summer Salad · Shaved Summer Squash Salad Served With A Parmesan Gruyere'

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 Summer Salad · Strawberry-cranberry Summer Salad · Shaved Summer Squash Salad Served With A Parmesan Gruyere'

White · Medium · Dry

Same grape as Pinot Grigio, different attitude — the Alsatian style is richer, fuller, faintly honeyed, with the structure to handle pork, smoked fish, and Asian aromatics.

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 · 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.

Dessert · Light · Sweet

The Muscat grape made into sweet, low-alcohol, aromatic wines. Asti is the sparkling expression; still versions range from dry (rare) to dessert-sweet (common). Always smells like grapes.

Sparkling · Light · Sweet

Asti's more refined sibling — gently frizzante, only 5-6% alcohol, all peach and orange blossom. The perfect summer dessert wine.

White · Light · Dry

Umbria's classic white — blended for breezy, lemony drinkability with a touch of pear. The grocery-store version is fine; producer-bottled ones quietly improve any summer evening.

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.

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.

Tuscany's only white DOCG — Vernaccia grape, all green apple, citrus, and a faint almond bitterness. A historic wine that earned its reputation honestly.