Wine pairings for Bucatini all’Amatriciana
Rosso: Montesecondo Rosso Toscana IGT, Le Coste Rosso VDT, Salvo Foti Etna Rosso
Bucatini, as loaded as it may be with burstingly bright tomato-y acidity, is a red wine dish. It’s all about the pancetta…but also about the Pecorino Romano…and the hot red pepper…. It’s really all about the complexity created by the fusion of some very basic ingredients. Winemakers often seek complexity in their craft by blending different varieties. Here are a few such wines that compliment this pasta perfectly.
Sangiovese is a clear go-to wine for this dish. That is because Sangiovese possess vibrant acidity, which matches up well with the tomatoes. The first blend that comes to mind is the Montesecondo Rosso Toscana IGT. There’s a wee bit of Cannaiolo as well as a dash of Colorino in this wine, along with some local white varieties. This is a gulpable, juicy red that goes down easy with or without the pasta, so pick up two bottles if you like to sip while you cook.
Next, there’s the Le Coste Rosso VDT from Lazio made of 95% Grechetto Rosso with Colorino, Cannaiolo, Ciliegiolo and Vaiano. All sorts of local goodness is thrown into this bottling! While still juicy, this wine is a bit more mineral than the Montesecondo. Both of these wines are great values.
Finally, I’d love to pop the cork on a bottle of Salvo Foti Etna Rosso, a chewy blend of Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio from Sicily. There’s more stuffing to this wine (that is, there’s more body and more layers of flavors), which works well if you like to layer on the pancetta!
I often talk about the importance of oak when pairing wines with pasta, and this one is no different. While a sniff of smoke from new oak can work well with the pancetta, the prominence of the tomatoes means the dish will work best with as little new oak as possible. In fact, none of the ones I’ve recommended today are aged in new oak.
Cin cin!
Christy Canterbury, Master of Wine (MW)
Wine Editor
@canterburywine
Check out our recipe for Bucatini all’Amatriciana .
