Italy is a treasure country, with a worldwide reputation for its food and wine, and is a favorite of countless foodies and wine fans. But because of the wide variety of Italian cuisines, many wine lovers struggle to properly match the two. Below, the Wine Encyclopedia presents you with a guide to common Italian food and wine pairings, and friends who love food and wine should not miss it
Flavors of common Ingredients in Italy
The following ingredients play an indispensable and important role in many Italian cuisines, and you can find them in many different dishes:
- Tomatoes of various shapes. Whether undercooked or sliced tomatoes, they can be used to make delicious appetizers and salads. Used as a side dish and used in cooking, they are a key ingredient in pizzas, pasta sauces and soups. Tomatoes can add a lively acidity and freshness to the dish, which makes people's appetites increase.
- Cured jerky on the palate includes bacon, salami or bacon, which add a hint of nutty and meaty savour to your dishes. Italians often eat these smoked meats alone as appetizers, or add them as a side dish to pizzas or pasta.
- Cheese is also one of the foods that Italians can't live without, and there is almost no Italian dish without cheese. It can be used in seafood pizzas, pasta and meat dishes to add texture to sauces, or simply to accompany cured meat dishes. Depending on the type of cheese, cheese can add a rich savory, nutty or hint of sweetness to a dish.
- Olive oil is also an indispensable "item" that can be used to fry food, refine sauces and make salad dressings.
- Herbs such as basil, oregano, sage or rosemary can give Italian cuisine a typical Mediterranean flavor.
How to pair Italian food with wine
When pairing Italian food and wine, the following points should be kept in mind:
- First, you need to consider the abundance of food. Heavier dishes need to be paired with full-bodied wines, while lighter dishes need to be paired with light-bodied wines.
- In general, dishes with tomato-based sauces complement red wines. Since the acidity of tomatoes can conflict with wines with higher acidity, it is best to choose a wine with a medium to low acidity.
- If you use a lot of cream or cheese as an ingredient, it is recommended to pair it with white wines with more lively acidity.
- For dough-based foods, you should choose a wine with good tannins. But don't pair it with fish dishes, which can be paired with high-tannin wines to produce a very unpleasant metallic taste.
- Sparkling wine is perfect for regulating the spicy sensation of spicy foods. In addition to spicy dishes, sparkling wine is also suitable for pairing with savoury Italian dishes.
These Italian delicacies should be paired with wine
1. Pizza
Pizza is one of the most iconic foods in Italy. While there are many newer pizzas in restaurants today that taste very different from the original, the more traditional Italian pizzas are usually made on a thin base made of wheat dough and coated with tomato sauce and cheese.
- Margaret Pizza has extra toppings and a lighter taste. Pair it with a lightweight red or rosé, preferably from the Provence region of France.
- The spicy sausage pizza complements the young Chianti red wine, with high acidity and medium-to-high tannins just enough to resist the greasy feel of the sausage.
- Compared to spicy sausage pizza, the taste of prosciutto pizza is relatively less thick. Therefore, a medium-bodied red wine is the right way to open it, try Super Tuscans dry red.
- Hawaiian pizza is a controversial type of pizza, and many people don't like the fruit toppings on the pizza. At this time, pairing it with a semi-sweet white, such as Riesling from Germany, is a witty choice.
- If you prefer pizza with only vegetarian toppings, try medium-bodied, refreshing white wines such as Sauvignon Blanc or Verdejo.
2. Pasta
Pasta is the second most classic representation of Italian cuisine. They come in hundreds of different types and shapes, and cooking methods are endless. Among the most popular are spaghetti, macaroni and spiral pasta.
- Pasta with tomato sauce pairs well with medium-bodied dry red wines such as Sangiovese, Negroamaro and Tempranillo. They are just the right amount of acidity to not clash with ketchup, and the fruity aromas in the wine add flavor.
- If you are eating pâté noodles, in addition to the medium-bodied dry red mentioned above, you can also pair it with a slightly grander red wine, it is recommended to try Primitivo or Montepulciano.
- Creamy bacon noodles are usually served with a white sauce made with eggs, cheese and cured meats. This sauce is not as heavy as ketchup, so it opens the door to pairing with white wines. Dry whites from the Lazio regions of Pinot Grigio or Malvasia-Trebbiano are good choices.
- In the United States, cheese macaroni is a much-loved pasta because it is both delicious and easy to prepare. Sauces are often made from milk, flour, butter and cheese. The right choice to pair it with is Chardonnay, such as Chardonnay's Chablis from Burgundy. They bring fresh citrus flavor and good acidity to cheese macaroni. In addition to Chardonnay, the semi-dry German Riesling is also a match worth trying.
3. Italian Lasagna
Although lasagna is also a kind of pasta, Xiaobian believes that it is worth being brought out separately to talk about how to pair wines. Mille-fescendi is made from multi-layered spaghetti, whey cheese, mozzarella cheese and meat sauce for a rich taste and flavour.
Lasagna pairs very well with red wines from Tuscany, especially the Chianti Classico, a complex red wine with red and black fruit aromas and earthy and herbaceous notes. Vegetarian melaleuca made up of spinach or asparagus is much lighter than meat melaleuca. Therefore, you can pair them with white wine. For example, crisp and fresh Alto Adige Grey Pino is dry white.
4. Stew the calf shin
Stewed veal shin is an excellent Italian veal dish. It comes from the Lombardy region and is made from cross-cut calf meat. The meat is cooked in a short time and then slowly simmered in tomato sauce for up to two hours. When made, it is so soft and easy to debones. Usually, Italians eat stewed calf shins with cream risotto, a variety of vegetables, and a green sauce made from garlic, parsley, and lemon zest. The flavor is very intense. To do this, you need to choose a red wine with good acidity and a wine body, such as Barolo in oak barrels or Super Tuscan dry red.
5. Veal steak
Another popular beef dish from Italy is veal steak. Instead, thinly sliced and tender beef is dipped in wheat flour and fried in a red sauce. Depending on the sauce pairing, there are three different wine pairing options:
- When you make a sauce with capers, lemon juice and butter to pair with veal chops, it is recommended to choose a medium-bodied rosé wine, and the pink of California or Provence, France is recommended. With fresh aromas of citrus, red fruits and herbs, they are perfect to accompany veal chops to add freshness to the side and not overwhelm the flavor of veal chops.
- If you're making this dish with ketchup, the best pairing is undoubtedly a red wine made by Sangiovese, which complements the acidity of the two.
- The third common sauce to accompany veal steak is made with wine and mushrooms. This sauce needs to be paired with dry white wines with high acidity, especially pinot gris from Trentino-Alto Adige or Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
6. Braised chicken with marsala wine
You may have heard of Marsala, a fortified dessert wine from Sicily, but did you know that Italian chefs often use this wine to make wonderful chicken dishes, namely marsala braised chicken? The specific operation is this, they dip the chicken breast in flour, season it with salt and pepper, and then fry it in butter. They then cook the mushrooms with garlic, chicken broth, cream, vanilla and marsala. When cooked, the sauce is rich and delicious, and the chicken is soft and delicious.
When paired with a marsala chicken stew, it is recommended that the relatively light red wines such as Pinot Noir and Gamay are good choices. White wine lovers can also try pairing chardonnay dry whites.
7. Tuscan chowder
Italians not only know how to make great pizzas, pasta and meat dishes, but they also know how to cook delicious soups, such as this Tuscan chowder. The main ingredient in the Tuscan chowder is toasted Tuscan bread. Italian bacon, potatoes and a variety of vegetables such as kale, carrots, celery and onions are also needed to match.
The best wine pairing for Tuscan soups is a full-bodied white wine such as Chardonnay. If you prefer semi-dry white wines, try Pinot Gris from the Alsace appellation or the Spatlese Riesling from Germany.
8. Italian cheese
While many of the dishes we discuss contain cheese, when you enjoy it alone, we should also choose the wine that matches it according to the different cheeses. Italy is home to many wonderful cheeses, including salty hard cheeses, creamy soft cheeses and blue cheeses with sharp flavors.
- For salty and hard cheeses like Gipai cheese, Prosecco sparkling wine is the perfect choice.
- Pair it with a soft cheese like Mozzarella cheese, which you can pair with Pinot Gris, which adds freshness and a distinctive citrus aroma that pairs perfectly with soft and gentle cheese.
- Blue cheeses such as Gorgonzola have a strong aroma and flavor, even a little sharp, and are suitable for pairing with fruity wines such as Moscato d'Asti. This slightly sparkling liqueur, with its sweet taste and fruity aroma, not only complements the flavor of blue cheese, but also helps to clean the mouth with the bubbles in the wine.
Having said so many common Italian food and wine pairings correctly, have you learned?