Santa Margherita - Specific recommendations for food and wine matching

Aperitifs

Dry white wines and semi- or fully sparkling wines that are not sweet (Brut and Extra Brut) are especially suitable, because their acidity and, in the case of bubbly wines, the presence of CO2 favor the secretion of gastric juices that prepare the body for receiving food.

Hors d’oeuvres

Here the suggestions are similar to those for the aperitif, although in this case the structure of the white wines should be increased, especially if there are shellfish or seafood in general. One can also serve rosé wines or light reds with cold cuts (such as salami or Parma ham), even if well-structured and aromatic white wines will go with them perfectly as well.

Soups

Even though some people suggest that you should only drink water with soups, wine is still the best accompaniment for a good broth or consommé (a dry white), a vegetable soup (a rosé or a young red), or a particularly flavorful farmhouse soup (a medium-weight red).

Pasta dishes /Risottos

The choice of wine depends on the type of filling and/or sauce in the recipe. If the dish is vegetable-based, light, easy-drinking white wines are appropriate; if it contains fish you should serve more structured whites; if it is meat-based you should choose a red wine whose vigorousness reflects that of the flavor of the sauce itself (lighter for a Bolognese sauce, richer for game).

Fish

If, broadly speaking, it is true to say that you should drink white wine with fish, it is also true that there are many different types of white wine and that there are exceptions to the rule. Depending on the individual dish in front of you, there are two criteria for choosing what wine to match with it: you can base your selection on the type of fish or on the cooking method/sauce.

Based on the type of fish,

for fresh water fish, choose dry white, fairly aromatic wines;
for salt water fish, more full-bodied white wines;
seafood should be matched with rich, full-flavored white wines.

Depending on the cooking method or sauce used,

for fried fish, whites with good acidity are most suitable (especially sparkling wines);
for steamed fish or served with a white sauce, young dry whites are recommended;
for fish in tomato-based sauces, you should serve fuller-bodied whites or even rosés;
for fish stewed in red wine you can use a rosé wine or a young red;
for particularly fatty (eel) or full-flavored (herrings, salt cod) fish, or with particularly strong sauces or condiments (caciucco) you can even try a light-to-medium weght red;
for smoked fish, a match with a fortified wine (Marsala or Sherry) is particularly interesting.

Meat

Some examples of meat dishes are:

roasts: if of white meat, you should choose a medium-bodied red (Merlot, Santa Maddalena, Marzemino, Dolcetto, Valpolicella); if of red meat, use a more full-bodied wine (Chianti Classico, Teroldego Rotaliano, Salice Salentino, Sangiovese from Tuscany, etc.)
stews and boiled meats: if poultry-based, light, perfumed reds are best (Bonarda, Schiava, Bardolino); if they are made from beef, choose wines with more body (Barbera, Valpolicella Superiore),
sheep’s or goat’s meat: because of their particularly rich smell, they call for reds with incisive aromatic qualities, such as Aglianico or Cabernet Franc;
game: if from birds, full-bodied but elegant red wines (Brunello, Nobile di Montepulciano, Sagrantino, Torgiano Rosso Riserva, Chianti Riserva, Lagrein); if from animals, serve them with aristocratic and complex aged wines that are rich in alcohol (Barolo, Barbaresco, Taurasi);
offal, such as brains, sweetbreads or tripe would be best with aromatic whites or fragrant, fruity reds.

Cheese

The choice should be based on what type of milk the cheese is made from (cow’s, goat’s, sheep’s), the amount of fat it contains, the softness or hardness of the cheese and its freshness or maturity. In general:

with young, fresh cheeses serve dry white wines or light reds;
mature cheeses should be accompanied by reds with greater structure and tannins;
sharply-flavored cheeses go well with very full-bodied and rounded wines;
goat’s and sheep’s milk cheeses should be matched with wines with very intense floral and vegetal bouquets: generally whites for young goat’s milk cheeses and reds for mature ones and sheep’s milk cheeses;
blue cheeses find their ideal foil in sweet and/or fortified wines or with mellow, alcoholic and very scented reds with great structure (Sfursat from the Valtellina, Amarone della Valpolicella, Sagrantino di Montefalco Riserva).

There are three general principles to follow:

the stronger the cheese, the more tannic the wine should be;
the more creamy it is, the higher the wine’s acidity should be;
the more mature it is, the more likely it is to require a red wine.
Goat’s milk and sheep’s milk cheeses call for very perfumed, aromatic wines.
Wines and cheeses from the same region tend to go well together.

Desserts

Here the choice of wine is dependent on how sweet the dessert is; sweet or medium-dry (but never Brut) sparkling wines are fine, as are sweet still or fortified wines: it is partly a question of personal taste. The general rules are:

with fruit salads or cakes made from risen dough (panettone, pandoro, sponge cakes) you shuld opt for fragrant sweet wines such as sweet sparkling wines or Moscato d’Asti, or – at a stretch - Prosecco di Cartizze Dry;
dry pastries (perhaps containing almonds) call for wines that are more alcoholic than they are sweet (like Vin Santo or Marsala Superiore);
short crust pastries or fruit tarts may be matched with sweet red wines such as Brachetto d'Acqui, Aleatico, Malvasia di Casorzo or Recioto della Valpolicella;
desserts containing cream or custard call for wines that are decidedly sweet but which are also fresh on the palate, such as many passito wines, like Recioto di Soave, Albana di Romagna Passito and even Passito di Pantelleria;
matching wine with chocolate-based desserts becomes increasingly complicated the higher the proportion of cacao they contain: however, you need wines where a high level of alcohol counts for more than actual sweetness such as Port, Marsala or Pedro Ximenes, or indeed aromatized wines like Barolo Chinato. (Serving rum with such desserts, however, is your best bet).