With their crisp character and bracing acid quality, sauvignon blancs are frequently paired with oysters in the Seafood Room at Oceanaire restaurant in downtown Seattle.

It was Ballard seafood impresario Jon Rowley who first brought the concept of oyster wines to my attention. Years ago, Rowley instituted an annual competition that brings in wine entries from all over the West Coast. After a whole lot of slurping and swoozling by various panels of brine-soaked judges, a final vote is taken and a Top 10 list of oyster wines is compiled. Among this year's winners were a dry chenin blanc, several pinot gris and even an auxerrois (!) from British Columbia. But half of the 10 were sauvignon blancs.

What is it, I wondered, that most excellently captures, cajoles, coddles and caresses the sweet and salty flavors of the oyster? By a process of elimination, it is possible to identify certain essential traits.

Red wines may immediately move to the back of the class. Tannins and ripe red fruits spell nothing but trouble when mingling with the metallic, briny splendors of an oyster. The same is true for virtually every other red, even pink or blush wines, which generally have the added burden of sweetness. So we move on to whites.

Look for these • Buena Vista 2000 Sauvignon Blanc (about $10). This is a laid-back effort featuring bracing acids under pear and green-apple fruit. • Caterina 2000 Sauvignon Blanc (about $10). Made in a crisp, clean style, this lovely wine mixes ripe, round fruit with firm acids. • Covey Run 2000 Fumé Blanc (about $9). Scents of new-mown hay and fresh-cut asparagus set up this dry, grassy and tart fumé. • Geyser Peak Winery 2001 Sauvignon Blanc (about $10). Many California sauv blancs are over-ripe and taste like a Carmen Miranda hat. This is a clean, crisp, grassy version, impeccably fresh. • Hedges 2000/2001 Fumé-Chardonnay (about $9). OK, they sneaked in some chardonnay, but what gorgeous wines: intense, creamy and bright. • Markham 2000 Sauvignon Blanc (about $10). Grassy, herbal and somehow tasting of spring. • Maryhill 2000 Sauvignon Blanc (about $10). This new Washington winery hits the bull's-eye with this vivid and stylish wine, bursting with lemony fruit. • Washington Hills 2000 Fumé Blanc (about $7). This is a straightforward, fruity style of sauvignon blanc, with citrus flavors dominant. Tart and refreshing.

Once again we must rule out any with even a touch of sweetness. Sweetness from residual sugar, from ripe fruit, even the sort that comes from certain oak barrels, will clobber your oyster. That's why you shouldn't even attempt to seduce an oyster with riesling, gewurztraminer, chenin blanc or any other grapes that are commonly made in a sweeter style unless you're sure the wine is absolutely bone dry.

Here it's important to note that some wine makers may slip a trace of sweetness into wines that are considered dry, particularly moderately priced chardonnays. So even non-oaky chardonnays are booted out of the oyster-friendly class.

Soft, buttery wines are the next to wash out. Oysters like more lively companions. Which means they like, even demand, acidic wines. The acid cuts right through the salt and mineral flavors, keeping the underlying wine flavors intact while supporting the oysterly nuances. Things change considerably if you are eating your oysters baked or roasted and slathered with butter, but if that is the case then you, too, may move to the back of the class.

The need for acid means we can also fuh-gedd-about wines that have been aged in new oak barrels, which impart such flavors as smoke and sweet cracker.

Barrel-fermented wines are the next challenge. Some truly delicious pinot gris, semillon and sauvignon blanc is made by fermenting it in the barrel, but not all of it will pleasure your oyster. If a wine is fermented in an older barrel, it acquires a certain bracing creaminess from resting on the lees (the dead yeast cells). In fact, the quintessential French oyster wine, muscadet, will often have "sur lie" written on the label as a mark of quality. But the safest choice for an oyster wine will be one that is fermented in stainless steel.

So here we are: The ideal oyster wine should be tart, without a hint of sweetness, butter or barrel. The fruit should be decidedly lemony; the mouthfeel, creamy and lively. Wines that have mineral flavors, from chalk or limestone soils, are more interesting than wines that are simply sour. With all of that, my vote for best oyster wine, as far as domestics go, is solidly for sauvignon blanc. When it's not ripened to the point of being tropical, but rather shows more of the herbal, grassy flavors; when it tastes crisp and lightly spicy all on its own; just pure, fresh fruit and bracing acid, that is when sauvignon blanc will light up an oyster.

Oyster wisdom dictates that the best time for eating them is September through April. The summer brings warmer water, the oysters get revved up, and next thing you know they're bloated and milky, and no wine on Earth is going to help them. As it happens, spring is when the new releases of sauvignon blanc appear, and this is a wine just made for a spring day, with its zippy vitality and flavors of young, fresh herbs. So grab a bottle or two from the accompanying list and get 'em while they're cold!

Paul Gregutt is the author of "Northwest Wines" and a contributing editor to Wine Enthusiast magazine. His e-mail address is indelible@aol.com. Barry Wong is a Pacific Northwest magazine staff photographer.