Tomato Brie

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 Tomato Brie · Brie With Sundried Tomato Pesto · Crispy Brie Cheese With Truffle Vinaigrette, Mini Salad And Sun-dried Tomato

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.

Works with Tomato Brie · Brie With Sundried Tomato Pesto

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 Tomato Brie · Brie With Sundried Tomato Pesto

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 Tomato Brie · Brie With Sundried Tomato Pesto

Fortified · Full · Sweet

Fortified red from Portugal's Douro Valley — sweet, warming, and surprisingly versatile. Ruby and LBV are for everyday; Vintage and Tawny are for serious occasions. Pair with blue cheese, walnuts, or just a fire.

Works with Tomato Brie · Brie With Sundried Tomato Pesto

Red · Medium · Dry

Mendoza Malbec, the global benchmark — high-altitude vineyards giving deep purple wines with plum, violet, cocoa, and soft tannins. Reliably excellent at most price points.

Red · Full · Dry

Nebbiolo from a single corner of Piedmont, slow-aged into something legendary. Tar and roses, dried cherry, leather; tannins that take a decade to soften. Decant; pair with truffle, braise, or aged hard cheese.

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.

Red · Medium · Dry

Sangiovese from Tuscany's historic heartland — denser fruit, longer finish, and a structure that rewards aging. The pizza wine, elevated.

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 · Medium · Dry

The original Bordeaux region — gravelly soils producing both Cabernet-led reds and serious Sauvignon-Semillon whites. The reds are leaner and more savory than the Médoc.

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.