Italian cuisine is one of the most popular on the planet, with a huge array of authentic ingredients and original dishes and as such it requires careful pairing with wines - sometimes it can be quite challenging because tomato, a vital ingredient in Italian cuisine, has a "bad reputation" of being rather demanding for pairing with wine.

Italian wines offer a vast range of aromatic profiles that can be paired with almost all cuisines in the world, and here we present you typical dishes that perfectly accompany the most famous Italian wines. With a choice like this, you certainly won’t go wrong!

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo is a medium-bodied wine, dark red in color and with aromatic tones of dark fruit and spices. It is extremely suitable for pairing with food and it matches particularly well with lamb and beef dishes, as well as with pasta topped with tomato-based sauce - for example, with a slightly spicy pasta amatriciana.

Nebbiolo

Wines made from the flagship red variety in Piedmont have powerful aromas. The aromatic profile features tones of rose petals, dark cherry, violet, leather and truffle, and the wines are rich in tannins and fresh acidity. This variety, which is used for production of Barolo and Barbaresco wine, requires food with an equally powerful flavors, such as strong meat dishes, especially venison, or one very local delicatesse - Castelmagno, the famous blue cheese from Piedmont. Alongside complex aged Barolo, a dish of high pretentiousness can also be served: aged beef steak with truffle sauce.

Chianti

This Tuscan wine is an important international symbol of Italy. It is characterized by ruby red color and flavors of red fruit with mild earthy notes. Its stylistic expression varies from cheerful and lively young Chianti to aged full-bodied wines with Chianti Classico label. The freshness of young Chianti makes it a perfect companion to Mediterranean food, and it certainly goes well with the famous dish that is also quite demanding to pair - Margheritta pizza. If you are dealing with a more pretentious, more complex and aged Chianti, then the right choice is lamb with rosemary, pheasant terrine or even bistecca alla Fiorentina.

Nero d'Avola

This Sicilian variety produces full-bodied wines with strong fruity aromas of ripe cherries and prunes. Its tannins are intense, and the acidity is lively and energetic. On the table, this wine requires dishes that can accompany its strong character. One of the suggestions is beef tail stewed in wine, but you won't go wrong if you serve it with a quality burger with the addition of crispy bacon.

Prosecco

Crispy sparkling wine with a pleasant fruity aroma. Prosecco is a wine that we typically associate with the introduction to an evening out and other cheerful, informal occasions. In its driest version, Prosecco pairs perfectly with light seafood-based canapes, with sushi and light cheeses, whilst versions with a little more residual sugar go well with sponge cakes such as panettone.

Primitivo

Rustic wine featuring intense red color, lush tannins and intense aromas of forest fruit and violets. Primitivo is one of the symbols of winemaking in southern Italy. Primitivo wines will go well with rabbit and veal, but also with one of the most iconic Italian specialties, parmigiana di melanzane, a dish that combines intense Mediterranean flavors of hard cheese, eggplant and tomato. It will also pair well with spaghetti bolognese or a plate of Italian salami and cured meat.

Pinot Grigio

Light, fresh, unpretentious white wines have been very fashionable in recent years, and Italy, especially the north, has something to offer in this regard. One of the trump cards of this part of the country is Pinot Grigio, which in Italy produces light wines with beautiful aromas of apples, citrus, pear, white peach... You won't go wrong if you pair it with light risotto with lots of fresh, colorful vegetables and similar "summer" dishes.

Amarone della Valpolicella

Rich red wine with very intense aromas and flavors, Amarone is the pride of Italy. The aromatic profile is very complex - you may detect tones of black fig, cherry liqueur, cinnamon, plum jam, chocolate. All this is balanced by good acidity. This kind of lush, structured wines requires a strong dish, primarily meat, and one of the suggestions is long-roasted beef ribs with wine glaze.

_________________________________________________

This article is a part of the promotional online campaign about Italian wines, within the 5th Week of Italian Cuisine in Serbia, organized by the Italian Foreign Trade Agency ICE / ITA, in cooperation with the Embassy of Italy.

BACK TO CATEGORY