Wine Pairings for Spaghetti all’Arancia
Bianco: Poggio al Tesoro Solosole, Guado al Tasso Vermentino
Bianco all’Arancione: Paolo Bea Arboreus, Vodopivec Vitovska Classica
This pasta’s twist of orange zest makes wine pairing a fun challenge. The citrus zest counters the sweetness of the cream. This is a mid-weight pasta, so choose a wine of similar density.
In the white category, aim for a generously bodied wine with forward fruit character and a touch of floral aromatics. Whites from Central and Southern Italy work best, and Vermentino is a richly fruited and floral wine that works particularly well with the pasta’s citrus. While some examples are light and easy, others have more weight. Look for one over 13.5% abv, and take the time to find one with no new oak. Otherwise the pasta’s vibrant freshness will be tamped down with flavors of toast and vanilla.
Rather than a red, try an “orange wine.” These are wines that come from white grapes that are vinified like red wines – on their skins, that is – to give them some tannins like reds. They also see little to no sulphur to preserve their light yellow colors, which deepens them into different shades of orange. The wines’ tannins will combine well with the pasta’s zest, and the white wine-ish flavors will mesh better than the red and black fruits of wines made from black grapes. The Bea Arboreus even smells of orange water, so it’s a great match in aroma as well as the bitterness of the orange peel. The Vodopivec Vitovska has more nutty and honeyed aromas that broaden the complexity of flavors rather than mimicking the ones in the dish.
Check out the recipe for Spaghetti all’Arancia.
Cin cin!
Christy Canterbury, Master of Wine (MW)
Wine Editor
@canterburywine
