Wine and sauced pasta: a delicious combination

Many chefs say that the secret is in the sauce. That is certainly true when looking for the ideal wine to accompany a pasta dish: let the sauce be the guiding factor in making your choice.

Pasta sauce with a tomato or meat base goes beautifully with a full-bodied and fruity red, such as a Cabernet Sauvignon from California’s Napa Valley or a Cabernet Franc from Ontario’s Niagara Valley. A rosé sauce will also go well with any of those, as it will with a lighter red: try a Pinot Noir from Oregon or a Merlot from the Sonoma region of California. If a savory mushroom sauce is on the menu, try a more woody red, such as a Zinfandel from California or a Syrah from the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia.

Light white wine is the obvious choice for a white pasta sauce, such as alfredo or carbonara, or for a pesto- or spinach-based sauce. Look for a Niagara Chardonnay; these wines are not aged in oak barrels, so they keep a certain crisp and refreshing acidity. If you enjoy pasta accompanied by a cream-based mushroom sauce, a good choice would be a woodier white with more character, such as a Viognier from the Niagara region. If you are serving a sauce made with blue cheese, an Oka­nagan Valley Riesling or a Cali­fornian Chardonnay would be a wonderful complement to that cheese’s pronounced flavor.