Like wine, the many oyster varieties have their own distinctive taste and texture. The best ones come from clean, cold currents. There are different wines for the perfect oyster match, but all of them need subtlety and a level of flavour that will allow the oysters to shine. Texture, in the case of top champagne, is also excellent to play off the oysters' texture.
Oroya 2005, Spain
This was created by Japanese winemaker Yoko Sato at cava giant Freixenet in Spain. It's made from 60 per cent airen, 30 per cent macabeo and 10 per cent muscat grapes. The most characteristic grape in the combination is muscat. The others give a pale canvas and good acid structure because the wine was created to pair with sushi. Oroya respects the freshness of Japanese raw fish in all its varieties of size, colour, oiliness and succulence. The wine also offers a multipurpose match with oysters - its slight sweetness binds together the sea tang and, in some cases, the iodine characteristics of the oysters. The combination is delicious. With a relatively low alcohol content of 11 per cent, stock up on this versatile wine for seafood junk trips in the summer months to come.
Available for HK$102 from Omtis (tel: 2333 0241)
Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 1998, Reims, France
This is a classic, benchmark, pure chardonnay champagne. The Comtes de Champagne is elegant and delicious when it is young, but after ageing for 20 years or more, the wine really shows its authority and structure. This young vintage is perfect with meaty Belon oysters. The velvety gas integrates with the succulence of the oysters. The combination is simple and texturally driven. The bright chardonnay fruit brings lightness to the somewhat earthy oysters, and the lingering taste of the oysters and the Comtes de Champagne are evenly matched in intensity and minerality.
