Pairing Wine With Puttanesca

Puttanesca is a pasta dish invented in Napoli in the 20th century. It is often made with ingredients that are found on hand, but it almost always has tomatoes, oil, olives, garlic and anchovies. A very popular dish in Italy and abroad, despite its colorful name.

Since this pasta dish is made with tomatoes and anchovies, it calls for a strong flavored wine, and most often it will work best with a red wine. Rustic, sturdy reds pair well with the strong flavors of the pasta dish.

Wine Characteristics To Pair With Puttanesca

Characteristic	Detail
Sweetness	Dry
Acidity	Medium to High
Tannins	Medium to High
Body	Medium Bodied Whites, Medium to Full Bodied Reds
Tasting Notes	White wines – Citrus, stone fruit, herbs, savoryRed wines – Red, black fruit, tomatoes, herbs, cloves

Sweetness – Dry wines should be your choice with this wonderful, salty pasta dish.

Acidity – Medium to high acidity is necessary to balance out the saltiness of the capers, anchovies and olives.

Tannins – Since the pasta is so flavorful and heavy, with tomatoes and anchovies, medium to high tannins will work well with the dish.

Body – Medium bodied white wines with a good flavor intensity and Medium to full bodied reds will work well with the dish.

Tasting Notes – White wines should focus more on citrus and stone fruit aromas, with a herbal and savory touch. Red wines should have red and black fruit aromas, with tomatoes and herbal flavor. Cloves from oak aging alongside a bit of smoke won’t hurt.

Best Red Wine To Drink With Puttanesca

Red wines pair well with strong flavored pasta that has tomato sauce. Puttanesca is a variation of a traditional pasta with tomato sauce, and when made with anchovies, capers and olives it tends to be more flavorful, asking for fuller bodied red wines.

A classic Italian dish from the southern parts of Italy, we would recommend having an Italian red, as what grows together, goes together.

Sangiovese from Italy

A Chianti Classico from the Italian region of Tuscany, this grape variety is a perfect pairing with tomatoes as it has lots of tomato flavors and tomato leaf aroma. It’s rich in red and black fruit aromas with a herbal touch which goes great with the pasta.

Primitivo from Italy

Primitivo is a grape variety which is grown mostly in Puglia, in the far south of Italy. The wines grown in this sunny region have a medium to full body, good structure, medium acidity and a higher tannin level. A spicy bouquet rich with black fruit aromas, it will balance out the strong flavors of the pasta.

Syrah from France

Syrah from the Northern Rhone Valley will make a good pairing with this pasta. It is floral, herbal with a good black fruit core. Syrah is well known for its black olives flavor and aroma, which will pair well with the dish. It’s sturdy, with a good tannin level too, which you will need for Puttanesca.

Best White Wine To Drink With Puttanesca

White wines work great with pasta dishes, however having one alongside tomato pasta might prove to be a difficult pairing. Puttanesca is a rich dish made with lots of herbs and herbs, and a white wine with a broad flavor profile will be able to stand up to the dish. Sometimes Puttanesca can be made with white wine making it a bit easier to pair with white wines.

Falanghina from Italy

This italian white coming from the region of Campania has just enough flavor to stand up to the Puttanesca. Herbal and stone fruit oriented, with a bit of smokiness from the volcanic soils, it will pair well with Puttanesca. Since the dish originated from the region, it is just what we had in mind when we said that “what grows together, goes together”. A good second choice can be Greco di Tufo.

Verdejo from Spain

A crisp, herbal Verdejo from Rueda in Spain will pair well with this pasta dish. The acidity of Verdejo gives freshness to the pairing and it will balance out the saltiness of the dish itself. Verdejo is slightly herbal too, with a bit of tomato leaf aromas on the nose and the palate.

Best Wine To Drink With Puttanesca

The list below consists of wines that will pair well with Puttanesca. We are aware that it has more red wines than white since this pasta is quite rich, but we will try to give you a variety of reds with good tannin levels, high acidity, balanced texture and a rich flavor profile.