Picpoul

Picpoul means lip-stinger, and the name is a straightforward description of the wine rather than a piece of marketing. It is one of the highest-acid white varieties in the Languedoc, which in a region where heat routinely flattens white wine is an extremely valuable property.

The heartland is Picpoul de Pinet, a small appellation on the shore of the Étang de Thau, the shallow salt lagoon west of Montpellier where most of France's oysters are farmed. The proximity is not incidental: the wine and the oysters are produced within sight of each other and the pairing is the region's entire culinary identity.

The wine is pale, dry and bracing, with lemon, green apple, grapefruit and white flowers, a distinct saline edge and a short, clean, mouthwatering finish. There is very little complexity and no attempt at any — it is made in steel, bottled young, and drunk cold.

The vine ripens late and holds its acid even through a Mediterranean August, and it is a reliable producer. It was historically a component of white blends across the south and one of the permitted varieties in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, where it survives in tiny quantities.

A pink-skinned version, Piquepoul Gris, and a red, Piquepoul Noir, both exist and are rare.

Picpoul is a wine that knows exactly what it is for. It is inexpensive, widely available, and among the most reliable things to order with shellfish anywhere in France.