Match of the week

Orange wine and pesto trapanese

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on August 18 2025 at 11:00

I wasn’t expecting this to be the standout pairing of my meal at Sotto in Edinburgh last week.

As it was a hot day I’d ordered the insalata caprese - a salad of mozzarella, tomatoes and basil - with which I’d ordered a glass of the Planeta Etna Bianco off the list. And very good it was too, if not unexpected.

That honour went to the focaccia and pesto trapanese which went absolutely perfectly with a glass of a low intervention orange Gruner veltliner from Poppelvej in Australia the owner James brought over for me to try.

It was fermented on the skins of Greco grapes, foot-trodden and unfined and unfiltered (I mean, how on trend can you get?).

More to the point it was absolutely delicious. Fresh peachy and summery (despite coming from the 2022 vintage Down Under which makes it over 3 years old).

If you live in or are visiting Edinburgh* you can buy it to take away from Sotto for £29 otherwise there are plenty of other orange wines to experiment with.

Pesto trapanese by the way comes from Sicily (there’s a recipe here) and is based on almonds and tomatoes rather than basil. It has a sweetness and nuttiness to it, not unlike Spanish romesco sauce which might well go with orange wine too.

For other orange wine matches see The Best Food Pairings with orange wines

* Here’s my guide to surviving the Festival and Fringe if you’re in Edinburgh for that!

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