An Italian Food Lover's Guide to Pasta and Wine Pairing

Oct 25, 20202 min read

Is there a better combination than pasta and a glass of chilled wine? But not every wine goes with the type of pasta that you are having and not everyone is a wine pairing expert. A wine that compliments the sauce of your pasta can take your meal to a whole new level. Here we present you everything that you would want to know about the pairings of pasta and wine to transform your experience for good.

Red or Tomato-based Pasta Dishes

As the pasta dishes comprising tomato sauce are sharp, it’s ideal to complement them with a medium-bodied red wine. A wine that doesn’t suit the acidity of the sauce will make the wine taste bland. Cabernet Sauvignon or Zinfandel would be great examples of the perfect red wine for a tomato-based sauce. While you add more richness like meat, go up in the body.

Wines to pair: Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Sangiovese, Merlot, Rosso di Montalcino

Pesto Pasta Dishes

With most of the pesto dishes, Light to medium-bodied white wines are perfect. The key element of these dishes is the herbs: parsley, basil, mint, cilantro. Thus, dry wines like Soave, Verdicchio, or Gavi compliment the earthy and “greenness” of the pesto sauce. For red pesto, opt for a medium-bodied red like a Merlot or Sangiovese.

Wines to pair: Soave, Verdicchio, Sangiovese, Merlot, Gavi, Teroldego

Spicy Pasta Dishes

The incorrect choice of wine paired with spicy food can suppress the dish and toss the flavor. For the same reason, pasta with hot spicy sauces like arrabbiata, Aglio olio e pepperoncino, and puttanesca need to be paired with a sharp and crisp wine. You can either go for a light red like Zinfandel or a dry white Reisling.

Wines to pair: Asti, Zinfandel, Reisling, Lambrusco, Vouvray

Seafood Pasta Dishes

By seafood we mean, linguine with clams and spaghetti with prawns and medium-bodied white wines are ideal with these kinds of dishes. To not subdue the freshness and flavor of the seafood, you should typically pair your dish with a crisp, dry white wine like Pinot Grigio.

Wines to pair: Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay Verdicchio, Rosé, Grenache Blanc, Chablis, Muscadet

Creamy or Cheesy Pasta Dishes

Mostly any wine will go well with cheese, so the combinations with pasta cheese dishes are never-ending. But then to give you an idea about the kind of wine would best complement the cheese is a nice light-bodied white wine like Chardonnay. It would offset the creaminess of the cheese. Moreover, lighter red wines such as Pinot Noir go extremely well with hard-cheeses pasta like spaghetti carbonara.

Wines to pair: Pinot Noir, Pinot Bianco, Soave, Reisling, Sicilian whites, Sangiovese, Bianco di Custoza, and lighter Chardonnay blends.

Vegetables-Based Pasta Dishes

Who wouldn’t want a pasta primavera dish with fresh vegetables? To highlight the veggies’ freshness and improve their flavor, select a dry and floral white wine such as Soave or Sauvignon Blanc.

Wines to pair: Soave, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay