Matthew Parisi is a wine professional and Director of Hospitality and Guest Experience at Mount Salem Vineyards in Pittstown. He represents VOS Selections across New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, working with independent wine shops and restaurants.
You’ve made the reservation, you’re bringing the wine and nobody has looked at the menu.
One person will order fish, another will suddenly want a burger, and someone will suggest sharing three appetizers before anyone has decided on dinner. This is why I like bringing the wine to a BYOB restaurant. You get to contribute something to the evening without knowing exactly where the evening will go.
I’d be happy walking into dinner with any of these five bottles. They’re choices, not a shopping list, though I won’t stop you.
Nadal Corpinnat Brut Nature 2016
I’m inclined to start with bubbles, and my wife would argue there’s no reason to stop drinking them once the food arrives. Nadal makes this sparkling wine in Catalunya using the traditional method. Brut Nature tells you it’s especially dry.
Open it while everyone settles in with the menu. It’s lovely with oysters, fried appetizers, and anything salty, but it doesn’t need food to justify its place at the table. Sometimes the best first pairing is simply a glass of sparkling and the pleasure of having hired a babysitter.
AGRICOLĀE Dry Riesling 2023
If I had to choose one white for a table with varied tastes, I’d give this dry Riesling from Keuka Lake a serious look. Seafood, pork, vegetables, a dish with a little heat: it can move among them comfortably.
I’d also enjoy pouring it for the friend who says they don’t like Riesling because it’s sweet. This one is dry. You may have to tell them that twice.
Domaine Thomas Saint-Véran “Maison Rouge” 2022
Saint-Véran is Chardonnay from Burgundy, and this old-vine bottling from Domaine Thomas is the one I’d bring if dinner seems likely to involve roast chicken, mushrooms, creamy pasta, or a substantial fish dish.
Some whites are pleasant while you wait for dinner. This is a white I’d want to drink with dinner.
Les Quatre Tours Gaudina Rosé 2025
I don’t put rosé away when summer ends. This dry Provençal bottle would make me very happy at a table ordering a little of everything. Vegetables, fish, chicken, perhaps something with tomatoes.
Give it a little time out of the ice bucket. Served cool rather than freezing cold, it has a better chance to show you why it belongs at dinner.
Domaine Dupré Goujon Côte de Brouilly “La Démarrante” 2023
There’s always someone who wants red. When I haven’t seen the menu, I’d bring one that won’t overwhelm the rest of the table. This organically farmed Beaujolais has the energy for charcuterie and the ease to sit alongside mushrooms, chicken, or a burger.
I’d put it in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes before leaving home. A slight chill makes a red like this especially appealing in a warm restaurant.
So what would I actually carry through the door? For two people, one bottle will usually do but two gives you options. Going in blind, I’d take the sparkling wine and the rosé. For four people with different tastes, I’d consider the Riesling and the Beaujolais, perhaps with a sparkling bottle to open first.
Check the restaurant’s BYOB policy before you go, and leave enough time to chill the wines that need it.
If you’re passing through Somerville, bring this list to VintEdge Wine & Spirits and ask for Terry or Luis. Tell them I sent you and where you’re having dinner. They can help you pick one of these bottles or find something in the same spirit. Your neighborhood wine shop can do the same. A good conversation at the shop is often how a good dinner begins.
Cin cin!
Where to find these bottles
Ask for the wines by name, and they can usually have them ready for you the next day.
- VintEdge Wine & Spirits — Somerville (ask for Terry or Luis)
- Cree Wine Company — Hampton
- Bourbon Street Wine & Spirits — Lebanon
- Tewksbury Fine Wine & Spirits — Oldwick
- 56 Degree Wine — Bernardsville
- Amanti Vino — Morristown
- Stirling Fine Wines — Stirling
- Central Wine Merchants — Flemington
- Stockton Fine Wines — Stockton
- Little Silver Bottle Shop — Little Silver
- Lum’s Cellars — Maplewood
- Bottle Shop of Spring Lake — Spring Lake
Bringing a bottle? The Somerville restaurants guide shows which places are BYOB.
Matthew Parisi is a wine professional who works with a boutique distributor; the shops listed carry or can order these wines. He was not paid for this piece.
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