Pairings | Negroamaro
The best wine pairings for spaghetti puttanesca
Spaghetti puttanesca - or 'whore’s spaghetti' to translate it literally - is a full-flavoured pasta dish with strong, punchy flavours but which wine should you pair with it?
There are various theories about how the dish - a comparatively recent invention - got its name, the most plausible being that it was a simple storecupboard dish that could be slung together between clients’ visits.
The sauce which contains garlic, anchovies, capers, chillies and olives is quite a lot for any wine to handle. My preference, given the base is cooked tomatoes, would be for a southern Italian red - even a basic carafe wine would do.
- Sicilian and southern Italian reds such as nero d’avola, negroamara and primitivo
- Inexpensive zinfandel (you don’t want one that’s too extracted or high in alcohol with this punchy pasta sauce)
- Barbera - from Northern Italy or elsewhere - always a good wine with a rustic dish
- Inexpensive Portuguese reds from the Alentejo - ripe and supple, they make a good stand-in for an Italian red
- and if you fancy a white try a crisp southern Italian white such as Falanghina or Greco
Needless to say if you’re making the dish with another type of pasta like penne the recommendations would be the same. You match the sauce not the pasta shape.
See also Wines to match different pasta sauces
Photo by being0828 is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
6 good wine pairings for aubergine/eggplant
Aubergine - or eggplant as it’s known in the US - doesn’t have a strong flavour of its own but tends to enrich any dish in which it’s included especially when baked with tomatoes and cheese. So if you're looking for a wine pairing for aubergine parmigiana or eggplant parmesan read on!
In general I find the best wine match for aubergine or eggplant is a hearty red unless you’re serving it cold as in a baba ganoush or spicy aubergine salad. Good examples are:
* Italian reds - especially southern Italian and Sicilian reds with their dark slightly bitter hedgerow fruit which seem made for aubergines. Try a Negroamaro or Primitivo (see also Zinfandel below)
* Greek, Turkish and Lebanese reds with their wild briary flavours. Unsurprisingly since aubergine is such an important ingredient in that part of the world.
* Provençal reds especially those that are made from or include Mourvèdre in the blend - like Bandol
*Zinfandel is always good with rich aubergine bakes like moussaka but stick to the younger fresher styles. Killer Zins of 15% can be a bit overwhelming with this kind of dish
Which wine to pair with moussaka
*For cold aubergine dishes such as baba ganoush or aubergine salads or try a crisp dry Provençal or southern French rosé or Spanish rosado.
*I'm also really into amber/orange wines with aubergines as in this pairing with grilled aubergines and walnut sauce. If you're looking for an alcohol-free pairing pomegranate juice is a delicious match.
*For lighter aubergine dishes such as a tian of aubergine try a medium-bodied Italian red such as a Chianti or other Sangiovese-based red.
Image ©Anna Shepulova at shutterstock.com
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