Penne with gorgonzola and broccoli and malbec

Now here’s a wine pairing with pasta I didn’t wholly expect. The sauce - a gift from a neighbour - was a creamy gorgonzola one to which I added (just to make it fractionally more healthy ;-)) some steamed broccoli I had left in the fridge. (Well, it was raw but I steamed it!)

In general I go for white wines with creamy pasta sauces - and off-dry wines with blue cheese - but happened to have a bottle of young fruity Argentinian malbec open (the Punta de Vacas I made my wine of the week) and it really went brilliantly.

The cheese wasn’t that strong, mind you, and the broccoli added a slightly vegetal edge that kicked the wine into touch but it was interesting how well it worked. My only cautionary note would be that the wine was only 13.5%. A more full-bodied malbec might have overwhelmed the dish.

My neighbour says she enjoys a Gavi di Gavi with it too.

For other pasta and wine pairings see Wines to match different pasta sauces