Pairings | Spaghetti puttanesca

The best wine pairings for spaghetti puttanesca

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on May 24 2021 at 07:36

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

To gain full access to this article and other premium content you need to purchase a bundle of credits which you can do as a one-off purchase or - and this is better value - on an ongoing subscription basis. (1 credit = 1 article)

To buy credits you need to register an account, which which is easy to do here. Or just sign in to your account if you already have one.

If you’d like be able to check out all the food and wine pairings on the site you can buy a bundle of credits here to access my premium content.

And/or for regular updates on what and where I’ve been eating, drinking and travelling sign up for my Substack Eat This, Drink That, Live Well.

You may also enjoy …

Salsa verde and Chianti Classico

Pot Roast Pork with Fennel, Olives, Oranges & Oregano

Charcuterie and Beaujolais

Tags: greco falanghina drink:white wine Alentejo Portuguese reds barbera zinfandel primitivo nero d'avola negroamaro Italian red wine drink:red wine spaghetti alla puttanesca spaghetti puttanesca pasta food:pasta, rice & noodles

Comments: 1 (Add)

Martha on October 4 2016 at 11:36

Thank you for including the Alentejo reds in your recommendations. This is a wonderful part of Portugal with fabulouos people and wines. I don't think it gets enough attention. I love their voluptuous silky, very drinkable reds.

See all entries tagged "spaghetti puttanesca"