Pairing Italian wines with food: an expert guide

Want to make an Italian mad? Try pairing the wrong wine with your food! It's like pouring water into a prized vintage — you might as well just take a big slurp from the bottle. The Italians have a special place in their heart for wine and Apulians are no different. When eating authentic Apulian cuisine, make sure to pair each recipe with the right wine! While there's no shortage of books, websites and articles about how to pair wine with food, most are written by experts who don't actually work in a kitchen. In this article, we'll give you some basic rules for pairing Apulian wines with food — along with our own personal tips.

In order to help you choose the right wine for your next dinner party or special occasion, we've put together this guide on pairing Apulian wines with food.

Bianco or rosso?

When it comes to pairing wine with food, there are a few basic rules you can follow.

For starters, the best wine to drink with a meal is usually one that's similar in style to what you're eating. For example, if you're having a spicy dish, then the ideal accompaniment will be a light-bodied white wine with high acidity and low alcohol content. If you're serving fish, go for something white, dry and acidic to cut through its richness. With red meat, opt for an aged tannic red that's full-bodied yet still balanced with fruitiness and acidity. Having said that, there are exceptions and combinations that most people rarely consider.

Generally speaking, most red wines go well with meat dishes such as spaghetti alla carbonara or lasagna al ragù; while white wines pair best with seafood dishes like spaghetti alle vongole veraci or white fish roast.

Negroamaro

Negroamaro is an exceptional wine that pairs excellently with a variety of dishes. It goes particularly well with typical Apulian dishes such as lamb roulades, meatballs with sauce, barbecued horse meat (yes, that's a thing), and pasta with legume soup. You can also pair it with game, sausage ragout, pork and aged cheeses. The wine has a strong personality and will stand up to the food, so you don’t need to worry about overpowering it.

On the other hand, pairing it with light-textured and delicate-tasting dishes will spoil your experience of both the food and the wine. Vegetarian recipes, salads and seafood are better paired with something much lighter and ideally white.

Primitivo

Primitivo is a soft wine with high alcohol and tannin content, which makes it ideal for pairing with meat dishes of all kinds. Grilled or braised red meats but also game, such as wild boar, roasted lamb or kid meat. Less aged bottles are also suitable for first courses with meat sauces or legume soups - such as pasta with meat ragout. Aged Primitivos are best sipped slowly, ideally over equally aged cheeses and excellent conversation. The Primitivo Gioia del Colle, especially if aged in barrels, is perfect with mature Pecorino cheese from the Murgia region.

Verdeca

So, what should you go for, when you order seafood in Puglia - which you are bound to do? Try a Verdeca! Verdeca wines stand out for their light structure. They are refreshing, endowed with good flavour and persistence. They are ideal paired with seafood and fish dishes in general (especially shellfish), with fried "paranza" and vegetables, fresh and not aged cheeses. Choose this wine for your pre-dinner drinks or for a casual gathering with light snacks.

Conclusions: pairing wines with food is an art AND a science!

When pairing wines with food, studying the quality and characteristics of the wine is just as important as knowing about your meal. When you seek out authentic Apulian wines, you're not only looking for something that tastes good, but also the opportunity to complement your dish with the perfect beverage. In truth, there's much more to the pairing of Italian wines with food than matching a red with meat and a white with fish. There are hundreds of factors that need to be taken into account, including the texture, aroma and preparation of not only the dish being served, but also of the wine. Although pairing wine with food can seem tricky, it's something that's easier to perfect than you might think. All you need to do is experiment a little and keep the suggestions above in mind. By following those few simple rules, you'll be able to pair Apulian wines with your favourite foods and enjoy your next dining experience even more!