VINTAGES
Oysters vary, so choose a wine carefully

By Randal Caparoso

Illustration by Dick Adair

First, there are several species. Perhaps the best-known oysters are those originating from the waters off the East Coast — from Nova Scotia all the way down to the Gulf Stream waters of Florida and Texas — that are often called Bluepoints (although true Bluepoints come only from New York's Long Island).

But increasingly popular today, especially in the western part of the United States, are those known as Pacific oysters, larger Japanese species cultivated off western Canada, Washington state, Oregon and California.

Also cultivated in the Pacific Northwest are the smaller native species called Olympia oysters. (Europeans, meanwhile, are more familiar with flatter-shelled oysters known as Belons.)

Also contrary to popular opinion, not all oysters taste alike. Some are brinier, some are creamier, some are leaner, some are fatter, and some even have a "fruity" taste. Most of this has to do with the temperature of the waters in which they grow, as well as the oyster's fabled muscle, which constantly opens and closes to allow a flow of water and nutrients.

It is in the warmest waters — off the East and Gulf coasts of the U.S. — where that muscle is put most to work. As a result of all that exercise, East- and Gulf-Coast oysters tend to be the leanest, and have less of a creamy, fruity taste. In the coldest Pacific waters, oysters live a more contented life, working that muscle much less and thereby developing a plumper, juicier, fruitier taste mingling with more distinctively briny, flinty flavors.

In spite of the fact that I have never, ever passed up a plate of raw oysters anytime in my adult life, I confess that it took me years to figure out which oysters are which, and only recently have I discovered the wonderful variations of wine that the different oysters invite.

Considering the growing number of raw bars and seafood restaurants springing up across the country, it would behoove any oyster lover to consider the various flavor profiles. My own rather unscholarly findings, but with somewhat well-practiced wine matches:

Northeast Atlantic oysters (the "skinny oysters"): These are leaner, yet still retain a moderately briny, steely flavor. In restaurants and markets, these oysters are commonly sold by their points of origin — Long Islands (the original Bluepoints), Wellfleets (from Cape Cod), Delawares and Bristols (Maine). Similar to these are the oysters off eastern Canada, also sold by place names such as "Novys" (from Nova Scotia), Malpecques (Prince Edward Island) and Caraquets (New Brunswick).

The easiest wine match is probably any bone-dry white with perceptively minerally or flinty qualities: ideally, the pure sauvignon blancs from France's Loire Valley, most commonly bottled as Sancerre or Pouilly Fume, and sometimes as Cheverny, Quincy or Menetou-Salon.

While certainly acidic enough, to me the sauvignon blancs of New Zealand and California are not quite as ideal because they tend to be fruity and void of stony, minerally or flinty tastes.

The best alternatives to Loire Valley sauvignon blancs are the trocken ("dry") or halbtrocken ("half dry") white wines made from Germany's riesling grape, which can retain a zesty, slaty-mineral flavor. At only 9 to 11 percent alcohol, German rieslings sweep across the palate like a light, lilting, perfumey breeze, sweetening the taste of oysters with their natural lemon-lime acidity. Among the most reliable labels sold in the United States are Zilliken, Pfeffingen, von Hovel, Robert Weil, von Buhl and Dr. Burklin-Wolf.Ê

Other good choices: Spain's flowery and flinty dry whites made from the albarino grape (particularly those of Lusco, Morgadio or Pazo de Senoran). And from France: light and crisply dry Muscadet de Sevre et Maine, as well as classic Chablis, Macon Villages, or Pouilly Fuisse from Burgundy.Ê

Northwest Coast oysters (the "fat oysters"): These are the broadest, roundest, fruitiest, fleshiest and most creamy-textured of bivalves. These are also usually sold by their place of origin, such as Hama Hamas, Quilcenes, Hood Canals, Pearl Bays, Caraquets, Chef Creeks, Sinkus and the biggest of all, Tottens.

For these fat oysters, I actually prefer a fruitier, more aggressively aromatic, dry white with the requisite acidic underpinnings. Namely: sauvignon blancs from New Zealand (Giesen, Nautilus, Morton, Brancott, and Villa Maria are five favorites), Sonoma County (Murphy-Goode, Simi, Iron Horse, Kenwood, and Chateau St. Jean), and even the partially oak-influenced styles of Napa Valley (Robert Mondavi, Duckhorn, Spottswoode, and St. Supery), Santa Barbara (Babcock's Eleven Oaks), and Monterey (Carmenet and Ventana).

Other excellent whites for Northwest oysters: dry white Graves from France's Bordeaux region; dryer, chalky-textured Loire Valley whites made from the chenin blanc grape (Savennieres, Saumur Blanc and sec or "dry" styles of Vouvray and Montlouis); dryer-style rieslings from Germany or Alsace; Washington state semillon and fume blanc; moderately-scaled Gruner Veltliner from Austria; and German, Oregon, or Italian pinot gris (the latter sold as pinot grigio).

Olympia & Kumamoto (small oysters from the West Coast): Olympia oysters, the Pacific Northwest's only native variety, are small and mild, yet meaty and almost lushly flavorful. Always a treat!

Then there is the unique subspecies of Japanese oyster, now farmed in Washington state and Northern California: the dinky but pillowy plump, sweet, succulent, wildly popular Kumamotos. I can't think of a better match than dry, graceful, yeasty and crisply acidic French champagne; although in a pinch, any of the better California sparkling wine producers (Iron Horse, Gloria Ferrer, Roederer Estate, Schramsberg, and even Korbel) would certainly do just fine, as would almost any good Prosecco Brut from Italy.

Olympias and Kumamotos, in turn, call for anything light, white and more on the lemony-tart than fruity style: particularly France's picpoul and muscadet from the Loire; Vinho Verde from Portugal; and from Italy, Gavi (made from the cortese grape) from Piemonte, and Grechetto from Umbria.