-
Step 1
First, choose your pasta. Focus on the flavor, sauce, and ingredients; then start thinking about choosing your wine.
-
Step 2
Pinpoint the most demanding flavor of your pasta dish in order to pick the best wine to accompany it.
-
Step 3
If it is a spicy dish, you may want to choose a wine pairing that is a little on the sweet side. A wine that is at least as sweet as the flavors in the meal will go well.
-
Step 4
If your pasta dish is tomato based and therefore probably acidic, you will want to look for a lighter red wine or even a white wine. Go for an easy, fruity flavor in your wine.
-
Step 5
If there is meat in the dish, choose a rich, dark red wine that has a full body, something with a particularly acidic taste to compliment the taste of the meat.
-
Step 6
If the dish is vegetarian, you will want choose a wine pairing opposite of that which compliments a meat dish. Choose a wine that is lighter; not so dark, and not so rich. White wines best compliment a dish with vegetables.
-
Step 7
If the pasta has a creamy sauce (an alfredo, for example) choose a wine pairing that is crisp on the tongue; something with light acidity. Most of the time a white wine will fall under this category, but a light red wine also works.
