Drinking In is a new DCist feature that offers wine pairing suggestions for each Eating In recipe. Look for Drinking In the day after an Eating In is published.

By DCist Food and Wine Contributor Michael Mugmon.

Lobster macaroni and cheese screams out — well, burbles furiously -– for a buttery New World chardonnay. And not one of those flabby, backyard fence-scented oak bombs that sparked the “Anything But Chardonnay” movement. Rather, DCist recommends a moderately-oaked chardonnay from the American West Coast or Australia that has undergone some malolactic fermentation, also known as “malo.” During malo (a development process that the winemaker can control), bacteria transform sharp malic acid (think Granny Smith apples) into softer lactic acid (think Land O’Lakes). Malo also creates diacetyl, a buttery-tasting substance that also imparts textural heft to wine. You’re left with a fuller-bodied, more buttery chardonnay that matches perfectly with the richness of the butter-poached lobster and cuts through the creaminess of the melted fontina.

Although DCist suggests that you saunter confidently into your local wine shop armed with this knowledge and willingly select a bottle or two based on the purveyor’s recommendations, we thought we’d start you off with three options ranging from the grab-a-bottle-with-impunity to the look-at-your-checking-account-balance-before-you-buy variety.