Watermelon and feta salad

Watermelon and feta salad

Watermelon and feta is sweet, salty and fresh at once, often with mint, olive and a squeeze of lime, so the wine needs bright acidity, a little fruit and a light touch. The salty fresh cheese makes red wine tannin taste metallic. A heavy or oaked wine flattens a plate this light.

Pairs Perfectly. Pale Sancerre rosé, Loire, France. Made from Pinot Noir, dry and delicate with red berry and a chalky, salty finish, it echoes the melon and answers the feta. Its acidity keeps pace with the lime and mint.

Pairs Well. Moschofilero from Mantinia, Greece. Floral and sharp with a faint grapey lift, from the country that eats this salad all summer.

Pairs Well. Pale Douro rosé, Portugal. Light, dry and gently red fruited, and priced for any night of the week.

Worth Seeking Out

Pale Cinsault rosé from the Western Cape, South Africa. Delicate and strawberry scented, soft and low in alcohol, for a summer plate.

Avoid

Red wine and oaked whites. Fresh cheese and tannin turn metallic together, and oak weighs down a plate this light.

Failing That

A Verdejo, Rueda, Spain.

If All Else Fails

Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough.

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