Caesar salad

Caesar salad

Assuming cos or baby gem leaves in a dressing of anchovy, egg yolk, garlic, lemon and parmesan, with croutons.

The anchovy decides this, and almost nobody expects it to. Cured oily fish reacts with oak to throw a metallic taste, so a barrel aged white is spoiled here rather than merely dull. The dressing is also sharper than most wine and its savoury salt makes tannin taste hard, which takes red wine off the table as well.

Pairs Perfectly. Muscadet, Loire, France. Left on its lees through the winter, which gives it a faint creaminess that meets the egg yolk in the dressing without adding any weight. Bone dry, saline and sharp enough to clear the lemon, with no oak anywhere near it, and it costs very little.

Pairs Well. Fino Sherry, Jerez, Spain. Aged under a veil of living yeast, bone dry and savoury with a nutty depth. Anchovy is its natural partner and the pairing is far better than it sounds on paper.

Pairs Well. Verdicchio, Marche, Italy. Lemon and green apple with a bitter almond finish and a fennel lift, unoaked and firm. It has the acidity the dressing demands.

Worth Seeking Out

Robola from Cephalonia, Greece. Grown on limestone scree on an Ionian island, chalky and lemon sharp with a saline finish. Almost impossible to find outside Greece and worth the search when you do.

Avoid

Oaked whites and all reds. The anchovy and the barrel react to leave a metallic taste, and the savoury salt in the dressing makes even a gentle red taste hard.

Failing That

An Albariño, Rías Baixas, Spain.

If All Else Fails

Pinot Grigio, northern Italy.

Want to be able to craft answers like this? The Vinealto Wine Coach takes you from the basics to advanced.