In Italy there is no such thing as a good meal without a good bottle of wine. Even if you are cooking simple pasta meal, enjoyment of the dish will surely be heightened by pouring the perfect wine. It is important to match wine with fish, seafood, meat, poultry, cheeses and even dessert, so why not try to match wine with pasta. Rather than looking at the type of pasta being served – long, short, ridged or smooth – the choice of a wine for the matching with pasta is mainly determined by sauces and condiments as well as cooking techniques. To achieve a combination of pasta and wine, consider which wine would harmonize better with the sauce. Even cooking techniques plays a primary role. Eg. In a case of lasagne or timbali the pasta absorbs the taste of the sauce, but because of the high temperature it can sometimes taste bitter. Therefore, a crisp or slightly sparkling wine would be appropriate for matching. For complex sauces, such as a meat sauce, a red wine with an adequate structure should be considered. Simple rule number one for Wine with Pasta Dishes: Tomato Sauce dishes go well with Chianti. This is the traditional italian rule (broken everywhere you go in Italy), but it is true that a good chianti will always work together with a rich tomato sauce. Try it for yourself and see. Simple rule number two for Wine with Pasta Dishes: If you are having a seafood pasta dish, try white wines such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon or dry Champagne. Simple rule number three for Wine with Pasta Dishes: The sangiovese (Chianti) grape works well with rich dishes with strong earthy flavors. A mushroom sauce is well balanced by a high quality sangiovese. Pasta or Pizza Dish Recommended Wines Type of Wine Fettucine Alfredo Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, Sancerre White, Red Classic French White Pasta and Shellfish Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc White Variety Pasta Arabiata Rosé, Shiraz Pinkish Wine, Red Pasta Meat Sauce Barolo, Chianti, Zinfandel Powerful Italian, Red Pasta Primavera Pinot Grigio, Viognier White Variety Pasta Puttanesca Bardolino, Sauvignon Blanc Light Italian Red, White Pasta Tomato Sauce Chianti, Zinfandel Italian Red variety Pasta with Garlic and Oil Pinot Grigio, Verdicchio White Variety Pasta with Pesto Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc Red & white variety Pizza (Cheese) Barbera, Sangiovese, Zinfandel Red,variety Pizza (Pepperoni) Barbera, Chianti Italian Red Pizza (Vegetarian) Chianti Italian Red Risotto with Mushrooms Bandol, Barbaresco Powerful French Red Risotto with Vegetables Champagne, Verdicchio French sparkling, White