Pairing Wine With Pasta

Both pasta and rice are very neutral products on their own, so once again, it’s all down to how the dishes are cooked: here are some favourites, and the best matches for these:

Seafood pasta – with prawns, fish, clams, or smoked salmon and cream – dry, delicate, yet full-flavoured whites are the best bets, such as the northern Italian Gavi, decent Pinot Grigio, southern Italian Greganico, Spanish Verdejo and southern French dry whites.

Tomato based pasta dishes – the sharp acidity of tomatoes , combined with herbs and often spices, calls out for a juicy, savoury red, with decent acidity – look no further than Sicilian nero D’avola or southern Italian Primitivo. -Bolognese and meatballs – rustic, spicy, easy-drinking reds are what’s needed, so look no further than Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, or juicy new world Merlot.

Pesto Pasta– a tough one, with all those strong, basil and garlic flavours, so play safe with a full-flavoured Italian dry white, such as Gavi, Soave, Pinot Grigio and northern Italian Sauvignon blanc.

Carbonara and creamy/cheesy sauces – light, juicy fresh reds are what is required here, so try out lighter styles of Chianti, Valpolicella, Bardolino and Montepulciano; would also work well with French Grenache.