Best Wine with Spaghetti: Our 7 Favorite Wine Pairings

  • Last Updated - 5/8/23
best wine with spaghetti

Do you love spaghetti? So do we! It’s one of the most delicious and popular dishes around. Many people love to cook it at home with their family’s classic recipes or some love to order it when they go to their favorite Italian restaurant.

But what’s the best wine to pair with it?

We’ve narrowed it down to seven (7) of our favorites. From red wines to white wines to sparkling wines, we have it all so give them a try!

Table of Contents

What is Spaghetti? How to Pair Wine With Spaghetti?

Spaghetti is a long, thin, solid cylindrical type of pasta. It’s usually made from durum wheat and water. Spaghetti is the plural form of the Italian word spaghetto, which means “string.”

However, this is not normally what we mean when we refer to “spaghetti.” We generally mean the entire pasta dish that we prepare at home or order from a restaurant. This usually consists of 4 main components:

  • Spaghetti noodles
  • Sauce
  • Meat/Protein (optional)
  • Herbs and spices (optional)

When pairing wine with a simple spaghetti that consists only of sauce, then your wine pairing will be based on the sauce. However, if a protein is added then you should consider the flavor of the protein to match your wine. Finally, if your spices command the dish, then you may want to find a wine that pairs well with the spices.

What are the Different Types of Spaghetti?

pasta dish right wine

There are many different types of spaghetti. So before you pick your wine, consider the sort of spaghetti you’ll be eating. Here is a list of some different types of spaghetti dishes:

  • Classic red tomato sauce
  • Spaghetti with Meatballs/Other meats
  • Spicy
  • Seafood
  • Cream based sauces/Spaghetti Carbonara
  • Complex
  • Vegetables or Pesto sauce 

What Types of Wines Pair Well With Spaghetti?

pasta dish right wine
  1. Light & Fruity – If you’re making a classic spaghetti with red tomato based sauce, we recommend pairing it with a lighter and fruitier wine. Try a Pinot Noir, Merlot, or Beaujolais Nouveau.
  2. Bold – If your spaghetti has more complex tomato based sauces or has richer ingredients like sausage or mushrooms, you’ll want to go with a bolder wine. Try a Chianti, Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir from Burgundy.
  3. Sparkling Wines – If you’re making or ordering a seafood spaghetti or creamy pasta or one with a lighter tomato sauce, you might want to try pairing it with a sparkling wine like Prosecco or Franciacorta.
  4. White Wines – If you’re making pasta dishes with a creamy white sauce or again a seafood spaghetti, you’ll want to pair it with a white wine like Chardonnay to enhance the creaminess of the sauce. Or a Albarino/Pinot Grigio for a leaner, acidic, light-bodied wine that pairs well with seafood.
  5. Red Wines with Spice – If you’re having spaghetti pasta dishes with a tomato based sauce and spices, you will want to match the spiciness of the dish with a Primitivo or Zinfandel. These wines go perfectly with spicy red sauce pasta dishes. 

What are the Best Wine Pairings With Spaghetti?

1) Chianti

#1 rule for pairing food is to “Respect the region”. It basically means pairing wine with food that is produced in the same region. So Italian wine with Italian food always makes sense. Any tomato based sauce pasta dishes or spaghetti and meatballs will go well with a Chianti.

2) Barbera

Vietti barbera d'asti tre vigne

Again following the #1 rule of food and wine pairing. Furthermore, Barbera is an acidic red Italian wine that is a great option to pair with spaghetti pasta dishes. 

Because the high acidity will help cut through the richness of the sauce and the protein. And pairing tomato based pasta dishes with Barbera will also bring out the fruitiness of the red wine.

So, if you’re looking for a medium bodied wine that’s not too expensive, we recommend the Barbera d’Asti Superiore.

3) Pinot Grigio

If you are a white wine lover and looking for a great white wine pairing option.

Then Pinot Grigio might be the wine for you. Yet again we are following the # 1 rule, it’s also a versatile wine that can be paired with several different types of food like seafood and fresh vegetable pasta dishes. And like Barbera, it has high acidity which will help cut through the richness of the creamy sauces and the protein. 

Sauvignon Blanc is also a great option if you prefer it more. 

4) Prosecco

prosecco sparkling wines

Prosecco is a great option to pair with seafood and creamy based sauce spaghettis. The lightness and fruitiness of Prosecco will help bring out the delicate flavors of the seafood.

And the slight effervescence will help cut through the pasta dishes with creamy sauces. It will help keep your palate refreshing. 

5) Merlot

emmolo merlot

Merlot is a red wine pairing with spaghetti because of its soft tannins. And the soft tannins will help soften the acidity of the tomato sauce and the protein.

Furthermore, Merlot is a versatile wine that can be paired with several different types of food. And it pairs well with most meats, so if you are having spaghetti and meatballs you can’t go wrong with a Merlot. 

6) Cabernet Sauvignon

costco cabernet sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is another great red wine option to pair with spaghetti and meatballs.

Because it has high tannins which will cut through the protein very well. Plus the protein will help soften the tannins in the Cabernet Sauvignon. 

As a result, Cabernet Sauvignon is just a natural wine pairing for red meat.

7) Super Tuscan

Sassicaia Super Tuscan

Super Tuscan is a great wine pairing option with complex spaghettis. The complexity of the dish and elegance of the wine will dance in your mouth.

And this pairing may be the absolute best wine with spaghetti pairing. Because it follows all the rules of wine pairing and its simply one of the greatest wines in the world.

However, Super Tuscans are relatively expensive (avg. $60-$120) and some of the more famous Super Tuscans are a minimum of $200 a bottle. Therefore it falls down on our list. But, if you have a chance to enjoy this pairing, go for it!

What Wine Goes Best With Spaghetti?

Wine taste is subjective so is everyone’s palate. So the greatest wine with spaghetti, therefore, boils down to personal preference. Choose a wine you enjoy and there’s a good chance it will pair well.  

What Kind of Wine Goes With Spaghetti and Meatballs?

Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. For Spaghetti and meatballs, you want to pair the wine with the flavor of the meat.

Is Red Wine Good With Spaghetti?

Yes, red wine is good with anything to be honest! And red wine is always a good choice for spaghetti specifically ones made with tomato sauce/meat. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chianti, Sangiovese, Barbera, Pinot Noir, and many other red wines will pair well.

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