Pasta and Wine – perfect pairings for wintertime and during this Lenten season
When the winds of winter blow and flakes of white snow turn to drifts, we often turn to comfort foods to ward off the winter doldrums. And for those who observe Lenten practices, here are some suggestions to match some great wines with those pasta dishes that are so appropriate this time of year.
On nights when you are tired and need something to soothe your spirits, try a big bowl of spaghetti with marinara sauce. Assemble a fresh salad, add a glass of Chambourcin or Pinot Noir and relax. However, if you are feeling more adventuresome, remember that while most think of ‘pasta’ and ‘Italian’ at the same time, there are lots of other ethnic choices.
The composition of the pasta itself is pretty basic: flour, salt, and some kind of liquid - olive oil, eggs, or water - are combined to make the dough, which is then cut into noodles, dried, eventually to cooked in some form. However, the great thing about pasta is the variety of its shapes and sizes that come from the initial simple ingredients. We wind thin kinds of pasta, such as spaghetti, angel hair, vermicelli, and linguini around our forks with bits of vegetables, seafood, and red meat in the sauce. Then there are the penne, cannelloni, rigatoni, manicotti, bowties, and elbow macaroni that are stuffed, tossed, boiled, and baked. Beyond the Italian heritage varieties, Germans, Chinese, Japanese and Thai cooks all use their own versions of the flour/salt/liquid foodstuffs. And one of the joys of food and wine pairing is to find those wines that perfectly complement each of those unique cuisine styles.
If your entrée is light, and the sauce is white, consider a crisp wine such as Pinot Grigio. If you serve a simple pasta tossed simply with olive oil, perhaps a blush made from Cabernet Franc should be the choice If your pasta is smothered in a rich tomato sauce you will need to find a wine that can balance the sharp acidity contributed by the tomatoes. That acidity will make the wine taste ‘flat’ if its ‘acid backbone’ is itself weak. Hence, a rich, full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon might be the correct choice for that meal. If your pasta contains mushroom and or cheese sauces, the ‘Queen of Classic Whites,’ i. e., Chardonnay, or even a slightly off-dry Riesling might be one variety to consider.
Chinese and Thai foods are often regarded as the most difficult to pair with wine. The amazing, fruity Vidal Blancs, so easy to grow in our climate solve the dilemma. Their slightly sweet finish, rich fruit flavors, and intense aromas work wonderfully with most Chinese dishes as well as the spicy and sometimes ‘fiery’ Thai offerings.
For the ‘pocket kinds of pasta’ filled with various white meats, veggies, cheese, or seafood, such as Italian ravioli and Asian wontons, that have richer flavors would go well with Chardonnay and Merlot. By contrast, unfilled dumplings like Italian gnocchi and German spaetzle are more neutral in flavor and respond will on the palate with our Germanic style Rieslings. If the fillings are red meats, or the pasta is tossed with chunks of steak or ground meat light reds like merlot, Chambourcin and some proprietary red blends might be a good choice.
With the ever-popular rigatoni, complemented with broccoli, white cannellini beans, garlic, and virgin olive oils, those earthy flavors work well with both traditional vinifera reds, and for those who enjoy their grapey characteristics, the native American reds and blushes like Concords and Catawbas.
Regardless of your initial preferences in wine or pasta, meatless or not, consider exploring options beyond those pairings – the journey will be an interesting and rewarding one.
For additional information: dwinchell@ohiowines.org