Moore Brother's Winter Menu Wine Recommendations

To get things started, the Petit Chablis from my friend, Sébastien Christophe, is one of my all-time "let's just have a nice glass of crisp white wine" white wines. And for shellfish (especially scallops) and snails, a limestone-infused white Burgundy like this makes a delicious pairing. But don't count out pâté either! They love pâté in Burgundy too, and the bright mineral cut of a great Petit Chablis provides a wonderful balance to pâté's rich flavors and texture.

Now, I love the wines from my longtime friend, Maxime Barmès (who I've known for 25 years), though I often reach for them a little more during the fall and winter. Something about Alsatian wines gets me thinking about all kinds of hearty braises and stews, even though his beautiful dry Riesling would sing with the Betteraves à la Marocaine (Riesling is a willing companion to North African spices). Riesling, in general, is a terrifically versatile grape, and would pair beautifully with every appetizer on Ezra's menu. Not to mention, it'd be an absolutely perfect pairing for the braised rabbit, ahem, Lapin à la Moutarde.

I chose the first red wine solely based on Ezra's own unsolicited quip in an email ("that Fleurie my mother picked up was amazing"). My friend Patrick Brunet's Fleurie is a fantastic do-it-all red wine that can be enjoyed either just by itself, or paired with anything and everything from vegetarian fare, to a nice piece of salmon, to a hearty pot roast—a quintessential red wine to bring with you to a classic French BYOB.

And lastly, we're entering in to serious cassoulet season, so I couldn't help but include a red wine from southwest France's most famous wine producing region: Bordeaux. Of course, a beautiful Bordeaux like the Listrac-Médoc that my friends Audrey and Matthieu Thomas grow at Château Reverdi is for many more dishes than just that one. But if you think that a bowl of Ezra's cassoulet is in your future, a great bottle of Bordeaux would be a perfect companion for it.