What wine goes with pasta, pizza and risotto?
Pair with a dish
For the pasta — something Italian and easy-going
Red
a red with some grip
- Merlot a soft, plush red
- Nebbiolo a pale red with tannin and rose on itBarolo a Barolo, opened early and given air · Barbaresco a Barbaresco, finer and sooner
- Sangiovese a savoury red with bright acidityChianti a Chianti, savoury and bright
- Barbera a bright red, low on tannin
- Dolcetto a soft red for drinking young
- Nerello Mascalese a pale volcanic redSicily an Etna red, pale and volcanic
- Nero d'Avola a sun-warmed red
- Montepulciano a rustic, easy red
- Corvina a light red with a bitter edgeValpolicella a Veneto red, from light to Amarone-dark
- Zweigelt a soft, juicy red
- Xinomavro a pale red with tannin and some age
- Agiorgitiko a plush, friendly red
- Bobal a dark, juicy red
- Okuzgozu a bright, soft Anatolian red
White
- Pinot Grigio a light, clean white
- Garganega a gentle, dry white
- Vermentino a coastal, herby white
- Trebbiano a simple, neutral white
Why these wines work with pasta, pizza and risotto
Pasta and rice dishes are mostly about the sauce, and the wines that suit them best are something Italian and easy-going. Italian reds grew up alongside tomato, olive oil and hard cheese, so they tend to have high acidity and moderate tannin, which is exactly what a tomato sauce needs.
With tomato sauces and pizza
Tomato is sharp; a wine with less acidity than the sauce will taste flat and flabby beside it. Sangiovese, whether a Chianti or something simpler, is the default for a ragù or a pizza, Barbera does the same with softer tannin, and Dolcetto and Montepulciano are relaxed, everyday reds that never get in the way. Richer dishes such as lasagne, a slow beef ragù or a mushroom risotto can take more structure: Nebbiolo from Barolo or Barbaresco, or a Valpolicella.
With cream, butter and seafood
Cream, butter and seafood change the colour of the glass. Carbonara, spaghetti with clams, seafood risotto and pasta with pesto all suit a crisp Italian white, Pinot Grigio, Vermentino, Trebbiano or Garganega, the grape behind Soave. A heavy grating of Parmesan pulls things towards cheese, which suits the same savoury reds.
With risotto and other rice dishes
Rice dishes from around the Mediterranean follow the same logic, with Bobal, Xinomavro, Agiorgitiko and Okuzgozu playing the part the Italian reds play at home. Keep it simple; this is a family that rewards a wine you can drink by the glass rather than one you have to think about.
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