You don’t have to have Italian heritage to enjoy a delicious plate of pasta. However, at Rikasa, we’re experts at Italian food and want everyone to get the most out of their experience dining with us. While we offer various signature cocktails and carry some of the most popular beers available, we know that wine is likely to be the drink of choice for many people when they order one of our pasta dishes. Pasta and wine are the perfect combination, but how do you know if your wine goes with your pasta?
The right wine should enhance the taste of your pasta and compliment it, not compete with it. If you want to get the most out of your meal, knowing what wine to order alongside it is important. Find out what the best pasta and wine pairings are.
Wines for Tomato-Based Sauces
If you prefer a tomato-based pasta sauce like many people, there are plenty of wines to choose from that will go well with your meal. Since tomatoes are high in acidity, tomato-based sauces call for medium-bodied red wines. These wines will be able to match the acidity in the sauce better than other types. Some of the top recommended wines to have with tomato-based pasta dishes are cabernet sauvignon and merlot.
However, if your tomato-based sauce goes along with meat, like our hot sausage cavatelli or simple tomato linguini, you should go up in body. Zinfandel makes a good pairing for tomato-based sauces that contain meat.
Wines for Creamy Sauces
For creamy pasta dishes, especially those that contain cheese, many recommend dry, crisp whites like chardonnay to pair with the creaminess. Fortunately, many wines go with cheese, so it’s hard to choose something that you won’t like with a creamy cheese sauce. Light red wines also pair well with creamy sauces, so if you don’t care for white wine, pinot noir could be your best choice.
Wines for Seafood Pasta
Are you more interested in different kinds of seafood pasta, like our penne with shrimp and crab, or linguini clams? If this is the case, you don’t want a wine that will be too much and take away from the seafood flavor, so you should try sticking to light white wines. Many people pair pinot grigio with seafood pasta, but you can also go with other whites like chardonnay and grenache blanc. Rosé is also a great pairing for seafood pasta dishes.
Try a New Wine and Pasta Pairing Today
When you’re looking to enjoy wine and pasta, there’s no better place to go than Rikasa. We have an amazing menu with pasta and more, as well as an extensive wine list that will have options that will surely add to your meal. Our fine dining restaurant in Pittston is perfect for any occasion, so if you have something special to celebrate or just want to have a night where you can have a delicious dinner, you’ll find what you’re looking for at Rikasa.
Make your reservations to join us for dinner soon.