At the table
Pasta with tomato sauce
With tomato sauce, look for a wine that also has freshness: fruity reds with good acidity are particularly easy to pair.
The pairing
Why it
works.
Tomatoes naturally bring a lot of acidity. If the wine lacks freshness, it can seem heavy or a little flat next to the dish. That’s why Italian reds like Chianti and Valpolicella work so naturally with a tomato sauce.
The topping then lets you fine-tune the choice. A very simple tomato sauce calls for a fresh, fruity red. With meatballs, sausage, or a more slowly simmered sauce, you can choose a wine with a bit more body and spice.
In practice
With tomato, think acidity first. The simpler the sauce, the more the wine can stay light and fresh. If you add meat, sausage or a sauce that’s been cooked slowly for a long time, you can step up slightly in structure.
In the glass
What to
look for.
The LPV selection
Four bottles
for this dish.
A selection chosen from our bottle library based on their profile and affinity with this dish.
We don’t have an alcohol-free bottle to recommend with this dish yet. Our selection is growing.
What to avoid
Very oaky, very high-alcohol or low-acid reds can seem heavy with a fresh, simple tomato sauce.
When serving
Serve these reds a little cooler than room temperature, around 14 to 16 °C for the lighter ones and 16 to 18 °C for the more structured.