Escargots

Escargots

Assuming snails baked in garlic and parsley butter, served with bread.

Escargots bring a pool of hot butter, raw garlic and green parsley around a small, earthy snail. The wine must cut the butter with high acidity and meet the parsley with a green edge. Oak and ripe, fruity wines clash with the garlic and make the butter feel heavier.

Pairs Perfectly. Chablis, Burgundy, France. Unoaked Chardonnay with lemon, green apple and a stony, lean acidity, from the region where the dish is a classic. It cuts the butter cleanly, lets the garlic and parsley lead, and costs little.

Pairs Well. Grüner Veltliner, Weinviertel, Austria, dry. Green apple and white pepper with a snap of acidity, a natural match for parsley and garlic.

Pairs Well. Aligoté, Burgundy, France. Sharp and lemony with a lean, green edge, the other white of Burgundy and very good with garlic butter.

Worth Seeking Out

Altesse from Savoie, France. A mountain white, taut and lightly floral with a nutty finish, very good with garlic butter.

Avoid

Oaked whites and fruity reds. Oak makes the butter heavy and raw garlic turns fruity wines sour.

Failing That

A Verdicchio, Marche, Italy.

If All Else Fails

Vinho Verde, Portugal.

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