Wine With. . . Oysters

by Paul Lukacs and Marguerite Thomas

 'You needn't tell me that a man who doesn't love oysters and good wines has got a soul, or a stomach either.  He's simply got the instinct for being unhappy.'  So declared the Scottish writer Saki (Hector Hugh Munro), making explicit a connection long assumed by oyster lovers-the association of these briny bivalves with sensual pleasure.  No one eats oysters simply for nourishment, just as no one drinks wine just to quench thirst.  Instead, both are consumed to promote happiness.  That's why they are served so often on New Year's Eve-itself one of the most hedonistic celebrations of the year. 

Choosing a wine to pair with oysters, whether on December 31^st or on any other day of the year, need not be difficult.  We can say this confidently, since for the past decade we have served as judges at the Old Ebbitt Grill's Wines for Oysters Competition-an annual contest held each November, in Washington, D.C., to determine the world's best wines to drink with oysters.  Though different wines have won medals in different years, the top scorers inevitably share certain quite specific characteristics.  Regardless of grape variety or geographic origin, they always taste fresh, crisp and clean.  This means that they frequently are quite young, usually have been vinified in steel rather than oak, and typically sport high levels of acidity.  A good oyster wine needs to taste almost bracing.  Vibrancy, not subtlety, will be its chief allure.

Although Chardonnays, Pinot Grigios, Semillons and more have fared well in this competition, the ten gold medalists each year always include a substantial number of Sauvignon Blancs.  And while Sauvignons from Australia, California, France, and a number of other places have won awards over the years, those from New Zealand have outperformed all the rest.  Why?  Because first-rate Kiwi Sauvignon Blancs invariably rank among the most vivacious wines made anywhere. 

Other wines, though, can be good too.  We've had the good fortune to eat an awful lot of oysters over the past few months-not only in Washington at the Old Ebbitt Competition, but also on recent trips to both France and Australia.  So in recommending the five wines described below, we kept those experiences in mind.

That wine and oysters promote pleasure was perhaps best described by Ernest Hemingway in his memoir, A Moveable Feast.  Reminiscing on his youth in Paris, Hemingway captures the experience-both the physical taste and the emotional effect-perfectly:  'As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.' 

Oysters and wines together helped make our 2006 very happy.  We wish the same for you in 2007.      

Selection

Approx. Price

Comments

Cono Sur, Casablanca Valley (Chile) Sauvignon Blanc 2006

(Imported by Vineyard Brands)

  $10

This attractively priced South American Sauvignon was this year's grand champion at the Wines for Oysters Competition, winning by a larger margin than any previous Old Ebbitt title holder.  It exhibits classic varietal character, with grapefruit aromas and flavors, and a faintly herbal undertone that extends into a long, satisfying finish.  At $10 a bottle, it's a steal. 

J, Russian River Valley (Sonoma County, California), Brut, 2001

 $32

Sparkling wines and Champagnes consistently have performed well at the Old Ebbitt Competition, with the top scoring bubblies almost always emphasizing crisp, fresh fruit flavors rather than toasty, yeasty ones.  J's Russian River Brut does just that.  It was the highest ranked sparkler this year.

Oyster Bay, Marlborough (New Zealand) Sauvignon Blanc 2006

(Imported by American Wine Distributors)

 $14

This was the highest ranked New Zealand Sauvignon in the 2006 Wines for Oysters Competition.  (Over 400 wines were entered.)  It displays pure Kiwi flavors, meaning that it tastes invigorating because very zesty.  Wines made in this style have enabled New Zealand, especially the Marlborough region, to become a world leader with Sauvignon Blanc.  Others that have performed well in recent years include those from Kim Crawford, Gisen, Huia, Mills Reef, and Villa Maria.

Leeuwin Estate, Margaret River (Western Australia) Dry Riesling 'Art Series' 2005

(Imported by Old Bridge Cellars)

  $22

We enjoyed this wine with succulent, creamy Indian Ocean oysters while visiting Leeuwin Estate in Western Australia last month.  It tasted of lemons and limes, with a mineral-tinged undertone, and married perfectly with the bivalves-leading us back again and again for 'just one more' oyster.

Domaine Thomas et Fils, Sancerre (Loire Valley, France) 'Clos de la Crele' 2005

(Imported by Robert Kacher Selections)

$25

On a warm Saturday evening this past October, at the bustling brasserie André in the French port of La Rochelle, we indulged in plate after plate of freshly shucked oysters.  Dark in color and quite metallic, they tasted different from the oysters we eat regularly on this side of the Atlantic-more like the sea itself.  With them, we drank a bottle of Sancerre from a small producer whose wines are not imported to these shores.  But then, back home, in the Old Ebbitt Wines for Oysters Competition a few weeks later, this Sancerre turned out to be this year's highest-scoring wine from France.  Much like the wine we so enjoyed in La Rochelle, it marries Sauvignon Blanc's inherent vivacity with an intriguing (and enticing) minerality that itself echoes the taste of fresh oysters.