Pairing Wine With Alfredo

Alfredo is one of the most popular sauces in the world, typically with pasta noodles. It is a favourite among all age groups and can be enjoyed vegetarian and with protein such as chicken.  This creamy, cheesy, and garlicky sauce is often accompanied with some herbs that really make it stand out. There are many types of wine that will complement and contrast nicely with alfredo sauce that will create a perfect pairing to elevate your dining experience. 

Wine Characteristics To Pair With Alfredo

Best Red Wine To Drink With Alfredo

Although the first thing that comes to mind for wine pairings is white wine, it is important to know that there are some red wines that can go nicely with Alfredo.  Stick to ones that are lower in tannins to not overpower the dish and higher in acidity to balance out Alfredo’s richness.  Since Alfredo is not a complex dish, choose a red that is young and fresh instead of aged and highly oaked. 

Bourgogne Rouge

Bourgogne Rouge is made from Pinot Noir. Burgundy (Bourgogne) is a region that has many levels ranging from Bourgogne to Grand Cru.  Bourgogne would be the best choice to pair with Alfredo because it has minimal or no oak aging with predominantly fruity notes to not overpower the delicacy of this dish.  Since Burgundy has a cool to moderate climate, it will create wines with higher acidity levels that are important to balance with the creaminess Alfredo brings. 

Beaujolais

This region is just south of Burgundy and is famous for its wines made from Gamay. These wines are fruit forward with minimal or no oak aging to highlight the attractive fruit and floral notes.  These wines are typically low to medium complexity, which will create a great match with Alfredo’s simple flavour profile. It also has a medium-plus acidity level to cut through the dish’s richness but also will not overpower the palate. Also, Beaujolais is often a more delicate wine, which complements the delicate flavour profile of Alfredo, thus creating a harmonious pairing. 

Barbera 

This is an underrated red wine from Northern Italy.  It has high acid, low tannin and both red and black fruits. It is a wine that is typically enjoyed young, which is ideal for Alfredo since their complexities will balance each other without one stealing the show. It is important for the red wine to have high tannin levels to cleanse the palate, which is what is great about the Barbera grape.  The lower tannin level is also ideal due to it not overpowering the delicate flavours of the sauce.  Choose one from the Asti region of Piedmont because it is known for higher quality with highest amount of acid and the ripest fruit flavours. 

Lambrusco

Lambrusco is a fun option that can create a great pairing with Alfredo, and is often impressive at a dinner party. This is a sparkling red wine, which makes it quite unique. Its bubbles and high acid lightens up the sensation of the richness of the sauce. Not to mention it is also lower in tannins, which will allow the Alfredo to stand out just as much as the wine does. Another thing that is special about Lambruscos is that the higher quality ones are known for savory herb flavours, which are often found in Alfredo dishes (such as parsley). Many Lambruscos are sweet, but a dry version is a better pairing. Choose a higher quality Lambrusco which typically is dry and will have more savory components. 

Tavel Rosé

This is not a red, however wines from Tavel are the rosé wines for the red wine drinker. They are from the south of France in the Rhône Valley, which has a warm climate that creates full bodied and herb scented rosé wines. This region does such a great job with their rosé wine that it is all that the region can make to have the word Tavel on the label.  These wines are very concentrated in flavour, thus creating balance with the richness of the dish. Its herbal notes will bring out any herbs that are used in the dish, and the minimal tannin level will allow Alfredo to be an equal partner with the food and wine pairing so as to not overpower the dish.

White Wines To Drink With Alfredo

When one thinks of a wine that can pair well with Alfredo, many white wine options come to mind. Alfredo’s main flavour is dairy with the cream and the cheese.  A great wine of choice can be one that has malolactic conversion to have these same notes in the wine. Also, it is important to choose a wine that has high acidity to balance out the creaminess that Alfredo brings to the pairing.  In addition, a white wine’s citrus, melon, or stone fruit flavours create a nice contrast to the flavours of the dish.  Light oak aging will work, but minimal or no oak aging will be ideal as to not overpower the delicate notes of the Alfredo sauce. 

Bourgogne Blanc

Like mentioned above with Bourgogne Rouge, Burgundy is a region that ranges from Bourgogne to Grand Cru. Chardonnay is the grape used in this wine. In this case a Bourgogne Blanc is a great choice as it will have minimal oak aging and the purity of the fruit shines through. This is a good match to Alfredo sauce since it does not overpower the delicacy of the dish. These wines also are known to have higher acidity levels due to the region’s cooler climate to cut through the richness of the sauce. These wines are often made with malolactic conversion which create dairy notes in the wine to match those found in the sauce.

Petit Chablis or Chablis

Chardonnay is also the grape used in this wine. This region’s cool climate creates wines of high acidity that cleanses the palate with the creaminess of the dish, and has notes of citrus, apple and pear that go beautifully with the dish’s mild flavours. Typically, these wines are not oak aged, which is ideal as any oak would compete against the delicacy of the Alfredo. 

Grüner Veltiner

This is Austria’s flagship white wine. It is a food friendly wine with its high acidity and citrus, tree fruit and stone fruit characteristics. What is unique about this wine is that it has white pepper aromas and flavours, which will complement the likely use of white or black pepper in the Alfredo sauce. Its high acidity is another white wine that has palate cleansing abilities, which will be useful with a mouth coating sauce like Alfredo. 

Clare Valley Riesling

These wines are world famous for its intense flavours, high acid, and bright lime notes. Like the others, the refreshing acidity will contrast the richness of the dish and the lime flavours will accentuate the creamy notes of the dish. This wine is almost never oaked as to allow the fruit shine through.  Choose one that is youthful since Riesling tends to gain petrol notes with age. Although these notes are desirable with many wine lovers, they will not do the delicate characteristics of the Alfredo dish justice by overpowering it. 

Best Wine To Pair With Alfredo

We can see, there are both red and white options to enjoy with Alfredo. For reds, choose ones that are young, refreshing acidity and low tannin. For whites, choose ones that also have crisp acidity, and if they have malolactic notes that is even better. Try to select ones that are unoaked to highlight the fruit notes of the wine, which will allow both the intensities of the wine and the dish to match each other. The best wines to choose are:

• Bourgogne Rouge
• Beaujolais
• Bourgogne Blanc
• Chablis
• Clare Valley Riesling