The best tip on pairing wine with pasta is to ignore the pasta and pay attention to the sauce. Pasta is simply a canvas to deliver the accompanying ingredients. For example, the Apulian specialty rigatoni ragu barese is a rustic, meaty tomato-based dish. A dish like this needs a wine pairing with enough oomph to hold up against roasted tomato and red meat. If you’re thinking red wine, you’re right, but which one? It so happens that from the very same area in Italy (Apulia, the boot of Italy) you’ll find a wine called Primitivo which has a powerful nose of sun-kissed red berry flavors and a medium body with the right amount of structure to match the dish. Here are 5 popular pasta dishes with a selected wine style as well as several suggested wines (both Italian and otherwise) to get you started. We’re not suggesting this is the only way you could enjoy these wines or pastas, just one way. Many roads lead to Rome, as it were. And, hey, there’s only one way to find out. Tomato-based sauces are powerful, high acid and are often blended with rich, red meats.

Because of the acidity in tomatoes, a relatively tart red with middle-weight body is your best option. As much as this sounds limiting, there are a ton of different grape varieties (and blends) that will happily fill this role. As you add more richness (meat, cream) you can move up in body, but definitely keep the fresh acid!  Here are a few examples: Primitivo (aka Zinfandel), Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Sangiovese (Chianti, etc), Cannonau (Grenache), Negroamaro, Nero d’Avola, and Rhône Blends It’s hard to find a wine that won’t pair fairly well with cheese, so instead, think of this pasta style as an opportunity to try some of the more texture-based, nuanced pairings. For example, a white wine with some creaminess to it, like an oak-aged Italian Trebbiano or Chardonnay, is going to create a congruent pairing and highlight the creaminess in the cheese (think ricotta!). Also, lighter more floral red wines are another awesome pairing partner with tart, intense hard-cheese pasta, especially if there are mushrooms or root vegetables involved in the sauce.

Here are a few options to try: White: Trebbiano di Lugana, Sicilian Chardonnay, Ribolla Gialla, Red: Langhe Nebbiolo, Nerello Mascalese, Pinot Noir (or Italian Pinot Nero from Oltrepo Pavese) and Sangiovese If you look up great coastal Italian recipes, you’ll discover that many contain some anchovies, clams, or some sort of seafood. Being surrounded by the Mediterranean is an essential part of coastal Italian cooking. Perhaps this is why the Italians make such deliciously lean, acidity-driven white wines, often with a sense of refreshing bitterness. Naturally, lean to middle-weight white wines are the way to go for most seafood based pastas unless there is tomato as well, and then you’ll want to look into a rosato (Italian rosé). Here are a few top picks: Pinot Grigio, Verdicchio, Vernaccia, Picpoul de Pinet (from France), Grenache Blanc, and Muscadet While most of us are familiar with the “classic” pine nut and basil pesto, you can really make pesto with whatever greens and nut pairing you desire: basil-walnut, parsley-pistachio, peanut-cilantro, hazelnut-mint… you get the idea.

The real trick to matching these different pestos with wine is by simply acknowledging the green is the centerpiece of the dish. As soon as you do, whatever wine you choose (be it red, white or bubbly) should in some way be a harmonious, congruent pairing with the green. For the most part, you’ll find that herbaceous wines (like Sauvignon Blanc) are best suited. Of course, there are many amazing savory, herb-driven wines out there, so don’t let this list hamper your creativity. where to buy wine kitsHere are some examples to get you thinking:best buy california wines Fiano d’Avellino, Friuli Sauvignon Blanc, Vermentino, Gavi, Grillo, Catarratto, Picpoul de Pinet and Grüner Veltlinercheap and best indian wine

Spring onions, garlic ramps, artichoke and broccolini often create the backbone of a great primavera, although anything fresh and seasonal will do. The goal of this dish is to really highlight the springy freshness of all the veggies, which is why a light-bodied white wine with lemony and floral notes is a great choice. Of course, a well-prepared primavera and major vegetable intensity, so it will need an equally savory white wine. best cheap german wineOf course, if you add tomatoes to your primavera, see the top of this article.  good quality wine for cheapHere are a few examples to get you started:wine tours long island reviews Soave (aka Grecanico), Vermentino, Trebbiano di Lugana, Greco di Tufo, Sauvignon Blanc and Gros Mansenghow much should a glass of wine cost

Pairing Food and Wine Everyday Supercharge your wine and food pairing with this highly useful poster. Create your own pairings by combining ingredients for a best fit. Adv. Food and Wine Pairing Poster Do you like this post?PairingsWines to match different pasta sauces Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on February 15 2017 at 06:00 As you might imagine it doesn’t make any difference what shape of pasta you’re dealing with, what counts with wine is the flavour of the sauce. best red wines that are not dryThere are too many to mention, but here are the main types you’re likely to come across. good wine brands indiaPersonally I like to drink Italian wine whenever possible with pasta as it suits it so well and isn't too full-bodied or alcoholic With baby vegetables (primavera) or herbs (verdura): try one of the lesser known Italian whites such as Falanghina, Vermentino or Arneis.

Or a Loire Sauvignon Blanc.To offset creamy sauces (eg carbonara, with smoked salmon): Soave, Bianco di Custoza, Pinot Bianco, Sicilian whites and lighter Chardonnay or Chardonnay blends.Cheese sauces (four cheese, Gorgonzola): crisp dry whites such as Verdicchio, light Chardonnays or light reds such as Barbera d’Asti or Merlot. Tomato-based sauces include fresh tomato with basil – crisp dry whites such as Pinot Grigio or Verdicchio. Tomato with garlic (napoletana): Montepulciano d’Abbruzzo or a light Sicilian red. Seafood (spaghetti alle vongole, spaghetti with mussels, linguine with crab) need crisp dry whites such as Frascati, Verdicchio, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, Muscadet or Picpoul de Pinet. A dry rosé is good too. Crab or lobster sauces can take a fuller white such as a good quality Soave or Chardonnay.Meat (bolognese, spaghetti with meatballs, sausage-based sauces) is a logical partner for Sicilian and Puglian reds (especially Primitivo), Sangiovese, Rosso di Montalcino and inexpensive Barberas.

Zinfandel is good tooWith mushroom pastas serve Soave, Bianco di Custoza, Lugana or Chardonnay, or a light Merlot or Pinot Noir.Dry whites such as Gavi or Soave are best with green pesto - you could also try Sicilian whites, lighter Chardonnays). With red pesto I'd go for a medium bodied red such as Montepulciano d’Abbruzzo, Sangiovese or Merlot. It’s a colour thing as much as anything.With hot spicy sauces such as Arabbiatta, aglio olio e peperoncino (garlic, oil and chilli) and Puttanesca (anchovies, capers and olives) try either a sharply flavoured dry white wine or a rustic Italian red: a Primitivo or Sicilian red, Zinfandel or Valpolicella Ripasso.Tuscan reds such as Chianti work well with pasta with beans or lentils (Pasta e Fagioli) or try an earthy, neutral white such as Orvieto or Vernaccia di San Gimignano) If you'd like to subscribe to our free monthly newsletter and be eligible to enter our fabulous prize draws click here or to get notice of posts as they're published click here.