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Jenise -> RE: Do you ever pair non-Italian wines with traditional Italian dishes? (2/23/2021 11:02:59 AM)
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Loved walking into this thread this morning, as I am contemplating dinner tonight at the home of friends in our bubble. They're serving spaghetti. I have pretty much never had anything but red meat at their house, so this is new, and I know they pretty much buy/drink only Washington state wines. What do they usually drink with spaghetti? Surprising answer: syrah. Why syrah? Because it's not cab or cab franc, and those are pretty much the only other reds they seek out.
Some thoughts: respecting origins is nice and even important, and those of us with well-stocked cellars can go virtually anywhere. But the world's our oyster here because Italian food is so easy to pair food with! From the red sauces of Rome to the rosemary-scented roast lamb legs of Tuscany, the variables are great. And so are the grapes grown in Italy for wine. It's not monochromatic. Most pinot noir and tempranillo, for instance, respond well to tomatoes, garlic and mushrooms. And body, to my cook's mind, is as important as tannins and acidity (or the lack of) to getting the details right, in some cases more in fact than the individual grape itself.
So what am I taking to dinner tonight? Not sure, but it will be medium-bodied. :)
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