INSIDER'S PICK: 2024 LIEU-DIT 'BLANC DE MER' WHITE SANTA BARBARA COUNTY (Vinous 90points) $23.99

Bivalves can be a tricky food pairing, especially when you are doing them raw and accenting their briny flavors. Bubbles are safe, Champagne of course being the thing if you're feeling particularly luxurious, but still wines can be an issue, with values being a particular challenge. One of the long standing go-to areas for us has been Muscadet in France, with the seashell flavored wines coming from where the Loire empties into the Atlantic and picking up all kinds of coastal flavors. Lieu-Dit has produced here perhaps the best 'drink-alike' domestic wine for Muscadet fans, standing toe to toe (brine to brine?) with the classics of the region. A savvy and unlikely blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc from several important Santa Barbara vineyards, fermented using native yeasts to really draw out the natural vibrancy of the varieties. Super bright lemon, hints of flowers and rind-y citrus aromas pop at first, getting warmer and softer as it opens but also gaining some seashell tones. On the palate there is definitely more of a round texture than the lean and linear Muscadet wines usually have, so there is a bit of California juiciness here, but it's very welcome. Clean bright citrus peel flavors, very mouth-watering the more you sip with a long lemon and shell tone on the finish. The plate of oysters on the label isn't a subliminal suggestion, it's an order! ​

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