Wine That Loves
Pasta with Tomato Sauce™
Intensity
This medium flavor-intensity dish requires a medium intensity wine. If the wine has too much or too little intensity, either the flavor of the food or the flavor of the wine will be lost and you will miss the opportunity to enjoy the interplay of the two flavors.
Acidity
The right wine for this acidic dish needs to be low in acidity. If the acidity is too high, the wine will clash with the food resulting in an unpleasant sour or tart taste.
Tannin
For this acidic dish, the right wine needs to have low tannin. If the tannin is too high, the wine will clash with the acidity in the food, creating a dominant bitter or astringent taste rather than a balanced taste of the wine and food flavors.
Flavor
To complement the bright, focused fruit flavor of the tomato, the right wine needs to have a bright and focused fruit flavor as well.
Varietals
Nero d'Avola and Syrah
On the topic of the varietals in our wines,
a word from our Wine Director, Ralph Hersom:
"On the topic of the varietals in our wines, there is one very important thing I would like to mention: The only thing that governs the taste and style of our wine is our commitment to bringing delicious wine and high level food and wine pairing to the table at an everyday price point. This means that the food that we are designing a wine for and our high standards for what a great food and wine pairing experience should be are the only things that dictate the taste and style of our wine. We don’t aim to make our wine taste the way wine from a given varietal typically tastes. We don’t aim to make our wine fill a flavor niche for a given varietal. We don’t aim to make our wine taste the way wine from a given region typically tastes. We just aim to make the wine and the pairing really delicious. I mention this because I want to make sure that people come to these wines with knowledge of our commitment to consumers and with a wide open mind. If you are familiar with the varietals in our wine, don’t necessarily expect our wine to taste the way wines from those varietals typically taste. But, do expect our wine to be great on its own and to work great with the dish it was designed for. If you are not familiar with the varietals, please don’t let that stop you from giving our wine a try. Again, it and the pairing will be great. The varietals we use are in the bottle because they bring you what food and wine pairing is really all about—a smooth transition in the mouth and a beautiful interplay of flavors. You’ve got my word on this.
I would also like to add that all our wines are made in the Modern Style (the style that some call the International Style or the New World Style). This is the style that American wine drinkers prefer. So, don’t expect our wines that are from Old World regions to taste like typical Old World wines. Always expect our wines to be made in the style that American wine drinkers love—fruit first, earth later. Always. No matter where they are from.
Welcome to the next level of good eating."
Enjoy,
Ralph Hersom, Wine Director
Wine That Loves