Celebrate National Oyster Day (Aug. 5) with some amazing wine pairings. Ronald Buyukliev is the lead sommelier at Estiatorio Milos, which has locations in New York, New York; Vegas, Nevada; Montreal, Canada; Athens, Greece; Miami, Florida; and, London, England, and gives his four tips for doing this right, sure to please even the most discriminating connoisseurs.
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If possible, always go with a white wine. These wines will pair nicely with any oyster—from Kushi and Kumamoto to Naked Cowgirls—while red wines would have to be very light and full of bright acidity to pair well with more robust, saline varieties.
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If you can’t decide on a specific pairing, stick to the classics. Lean, mineral-driven, dry white wines from France are always a match made in heaven with oysters. Examples include Muscadet, Sancerre and Chablis.
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Never drink tannic red wines with oysters—in other words, anything heavier than Pinot Noir.
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If you’re into spicy food, oysters with spicy toppings will pair perfectly with an off-dry Riesling. Those are some of my favorite pairings!
