Lillet Blanc

Aperitif territory, not a dinner wine. Serve it cold over ice with an orange slice before the meal lands, and it does exactly what it should: opens the appetite without filling anyone up.

Lillet Blanc is a French aperitif wine produced in Podensac, a small village in the Graves appellation of Bordeaux.

It has been made since 1872, when the Lillet brothers established their formula blending wine with a maceration of citrus fruit liqueurs, including sweet and bitter orange peels from Spain and Morocco alongside cinchona bark from Peru.

The result is categorized as an aromatized wine rather than a spirit, sitting at 17% alcohol by volume. Lillet Blanc is made primarily from Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon grapes, which provide the base before the citrus and botanical elements are blended in and the wine is aged in oak barrels through several seasons.

It is lighter and less bitter than many other aperitif wines, making it accessible without being simple. The most recognized way to serve Lillet Blanc is well chilled over ice with an orange slice, though it also appears in classic cocktails such as the Vesper, as specified in Ian Fleming's original recipe.

It works equally well as a straightforward aperitif before dinner. At this price point it offers genuine character from a historically significant Bordeaux producer and is a reliable bottle to keep on hand for warm-weather entertaining or pre-dinner drinks.