Oysters

Elite food and aphrodisiac par excellence, oysters represent a fine and refined food that can enhance a dinner for two like that of Valentine's Day. There are various types of oysters but a main division can be made between flat oysters, with a softer and more delicate taste, and concave oysters, more fleshy and with a light brackish taste. Unlike what one might think, champagne is not the ideal pairing for oysters, although considered an enviable pair as both symbol of high status . For concave oysters , the saline minerality of a Muscadet is better accompanied by that of the mollusk, as well as a Chablis which derives from the particular soil from which it originates, rich in marine fossils including oyster shells. With flat oysters the ideal pairing could fall on a Riesling, provided that Auslese, a Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, fresh and balanced, or a Chardonnay of Sicily, with sweet and citrus scents. Strange but true, an interesting alternative for any type of oyster lies in sweet wines such as Moscato d'Asti or an old vintage Sauternes.