What is The Best Wine Pairing for Spaghetti?
Spaghetti is one of the most loved dishes by people all over the world. Not only is it easy to cook, but the dish can be prepared in many ways. Best of all, spaghetti is enjoyed with a glass of chilled wine. The best wine with spaghetti depends on the ingredients in your spaghetti dish. Here are some tips on how to pair your pasta with wine:
Spaghetti can be simple or very complex. The three things that can affect wine pairing include the sauce, use of exotic spices, and presence of meat.
If the spaghetti is simple and consists of tomato or creamy white sauce, the pairing should be with the sauce and not the pasta itself.
If the spaghetti has some type of meat, like meatballs, ground beef, chicken, seafood, etc., the wine pairing is usually synchronized with the flavor of the meat.
If you like to eat hot spaghetti with lots of spices, you should pair the wine to match the spices.
Since most kinds of pasta are made with an acidic tomato sauce, you need to pair it with an acidic red wine, preferably Merlot, Shiraz, Zinfandel, Nebbiolo, or an acidic white wine, like Rose, Pinot Grigio, Riesling, or Sauvignon Blanc. If you do not select an acidic wine, the taste will be bland.
If your spaghetti contains meat, you need to pair it with a medium or full-bodied wine (e.g., Chardonnay, White Rioja, Rhones whites, or Riesling).
If your spaghetti contains seafood, you should pair it with a light-bodied wine that will not overpower the flavor of the seafood. Great wine pairings include Pinot Grigio, Gamay, Pinotage, Rose, Chablis, etc.
If your spaghetti dish is simple and cheese-based, any light-bodied white (e.g., Chardonnay, Riesling) or red wine (e.g., Pinot Noir, Lambrusco) will enhance the creaminess of the cheese.
Wine pairing with spaghetti dishes that contain exotic spices and herbs pair best with light to medium-bodied wines, like Merlot, Soave, Sangiovese, etc.
If you are into veggie spaghetti and want to retain the freshness and flavor of vegetables, pair it with a light-bodied wine, like Soave, Chardonnay, Riesling, etc.
Finally, if you are into hot and spicy spaghetti, select a light-bodied wine that will not overpower the dish’s flavor. Dry white wines, like Riesling, or a light red, like Zinfandel, will help you enjoy the spicy dish.
There is no set rule on pairing wine with spaghetti. The best wine with spaghetti depends on the spaghetti dish itself. What you do not want to do is have a flavorful spaghetti dish compete with a full-bodied wine. If the spaghetti is hot, spicy, or contains meat, pair it with a light-bodied wine so that the wine does not overpower the flavors of the food. If the spaghetti is simple, you can choose to pair it with almost any type of wine.