Food and wine
What wine with oysters?
Dry white, or Champagne. Never red, never sweet.
Raw oysters on ice, usually a dozen, with rye bread, butter and a shallot vinegar. France eats them from autumn to spring, and most of all at Christmas.
Why this pairing works
An oyster is salty, briny and raw: the wine must be sharp and plain. Any roundness, oak or sugar muddles the taste of the sea rather than carrying it.
Look for on the list
Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie
20–35 €The classic pairing, and the cheapest: saline, lemony, made for this.
Chablis
35–65 €Unoaked chardonnay grown on a soil of marine fossils. The most elegant pairing.
Champagne brut nature
55–110 €If you are celebrating: the bubbles and the total absence of sugar scour the palate.
What to avoid : Reds, which turn metallic. Oaked whites. And demi-sec Champagne, far too sweet.
The ranges are restaurant prices for a full bottle. By the glass, reckon on roughly a quarter. At a wine shop, divide by two or three.
What to say
« Un blanc très sec pour les huîtres, vous me conseillez quoi ? »
pronounced : uhn blahn tray sek poor lay ZWEE-truh, voo muh kon-say-YAY kwa
A very dry white for the oysters: what do you suggest?
Yes, but on this list?
Knowing which style of wine you want still does not tell you which one to take from the thirty lines in front of you. Photograph the list: Cépage compares what is actually available, at your budget, and decides.
Scan a list