Illustration by Alyssa Nassner Imagine a cold, snowy evening in January. By 4:45 p.m., the sun has set. You open a crisp Assyrtiko or Muscadet, alongside fresh paella. Suddenly, it’s summer. Paula Rester Salinas, beverage director of Side Street Hospitality Group in Fredericksburg, Texas, describes this sort of pairing as magical, “because it transports you elsewhere.” High-acid wines like Assyrtiko, Vermentino and Muscadet offer an impression of salinity, which suggests “the kind of piercing acidity that a spritz of lemon would have, and a hint of brine or salinity that a squeeze of lime and pinch of salt would give a dish,” says Nils Bernstein, contributing food editor at