Pairings | Rice

The best kind of wine to pair with gnocchi

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on October 11 2021 at 07:10

As with pasta the best wine to pair with gnocchi is all about the sauce rather than the gnocchi itself. You want a different wine if you’re serving it with a creamy sauce than if you’re serving it with a simple tomato one.

Although gnocchi - which is basically an Italian dumpling - typically has a denser texture than pasta you can pair it with similar wines but to save you having to click through to multiple other posts here are the best matches I’ve found. As an Italian dish Italian wines would be my first go-to but obviously feel free to experiment

Wine with gnocchi

Gnocchi with tomato sauce
Crisp Italian white wines like pinot grigio and pecorino pair really well with gnocchi with a fresh tomato sauce. If the sauce is cooked I’d choose a light Italian red like a Chianti or even a mature Barbera d’Asti.

Gnocchi with a creamy sauce
Gnocchi is often served with a creamy sauce, frequently with gorgonzola though the blue cheese element is generally not that dominant. I’d pick a slightly richer white with this such as a Soave or a good Valpolicella - even a ripasso if you like a touch of sweetness.

Gnocchi with brown butter and sage
Chardonnay always pairs well with butter-based sauces so that’s a safe bet but you could try other rich whites such as a Fiano, an old-vine chenin blanc or a grenache gris.

Gnocchi (or gnudi) with spinach and ricotta
Back to a more delicate style of white - I’d pick something like a Gavi di Gavi or, looking outside Italy, a glass of Chablis

Baked Gnocchi
Once you bake gnocchi, particularly if it includes a meat ragu it becomes a richer dish so again I’d be inclined to go for a Barbera d’Asti or for a southern Italian red like a nero d'avola. Gnocchi alla Romana is more like polenta so it depends what else you’re serving with it. Match that rather than the gnocchi in this case.

If you’re a gnocchi fan there are some particularly delicious recipes on the Food & Wine website.

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