Friday, February 24, 2012

Wine Pairing With Italian Food: Options To Consider

By Berta Simon


Dishes that come from the country of Italy can be found in nearly every corner of the globe. This simple type of cuisine is easy to make and goes well alongside many other things. Wine pairing with Italian food can be an art form, but by knowing the basics just about anyone can do it.

There are many dishes out of Italy which use tomatoes. This can make it tough to compliment as tomatoes are very acidic so it can be tough to find a beverage that can match this level of acidity. Fortunately there are many reds out of Italy, such as Barbera that have very high acidity and can elevate a tomato based dish to new heights.

There are a few strategies to follow when selecting at Barbera. The first is to find one that does not have too much alcohol in it, a good amount would be around twelve or thirteen percent. Also, see if the Barbera was aged in oak. Since this can lessen the acidity level it is best to choose one that was not aged in oak barrels. However, oak aged reds go great alongside red meat, so keep that in mind if steak is on the menu.

There are also many types of dishes from Italy that do not use tomato sauce but instead use fresh tomatoes. This still means they will be high in acidity, but are usually lighter than pasta dishes that use a sauce. For fresh mozzarella and tomato salad a nice white from Italy is a good choice. A good example is Greco di Tufo which has a bold flavor and plenty of acidity to go along with fresh tomatoes.

Seafood and fish are also very popular in Italy. Most people will match these dishes to a white, but since there are so many different dishes the choices are nearly unlimited. Some good advice is to always match fried seafood to Italian sparkling wine, as it cuts through the fat and oil. When eating simply prepared lean fish dishes like halibut a Vermintino from Italy is a great match.

Wine pairing with Italian food can be tricky but a person does not have to be an expert to pull it off. Also, keep in mind that there are no rules. No police are going to arrest a person for a poorly matched meal, so people should drink what they like. wine pairing with italian food




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