Trofie with fresh pesto sauce is one of Liguria’s quintessential traditional dishes – a simple dish of hand-rolled pasta and the bright, fresh flavors of a basil pesto that is herby and salty and sweet. So, which wine pairing best suits this pasta dish? Sensorial Wine Analyst Luca Maroni recommends three wines perfect for serving with trofie al pesto.
Trofie with Pesto and a Vermentino
Vermentino Lunae Colli di Luni Etichetta Nera Cantine Lunae
Cantina Lunae presents a Vermentino of rare quality with the alluring pulpiness of its Vermentino colli di Luni Etichetta Nera.
Straw-yellow in color, this wine selected by Luca Maroni for pairing with trofie al pesto opens on the nose with hints of ripe stone fruit, especially apricot and peach. This is enhanced by notes of acacia flowers and Mediterranean shrub which are accompanied by brackish and balsamic notes. On the palate the freshness is vertical and vibrant, the sapidity balances a broad, round body with good alcohol content. The almondy finish is long and persistent with a return of pleasant ripe fruit notes.
Trofie with Pesto and a Sauvignon Blanc
Sixth 21 Sauvignon Casata Mergè
“The aromas of the Casata Mergè Sesto 21 are a celebration of the fruit itself. It exhibits a terseness, a brightness and a crystallinity that expresses its varietal notes (of peach and menthol), exhalting what seems to be every ray of sunlight that has ripened the berry into a faultless glow of its first aromas of candor and sublime fragrance. An apex first of its viticulture and then of its enological integrity, its notes enhance its perfect palatal smoothness, with a density as rare as a precious gem.”
Trofie with Pesto and a Müller Thurgau
Müller Thurgau Igt Vigneti delle Dolomiti Aldi
“All of Aldi’s tested wines display a very virtuous drinking pleasantness founded on smoothness of flavor and olfactory cleanliness. And when to such gifts of balance and enological executive integrity is added superior extractive concentration, then the merit of these wines reaches tenors of excellent value.
Among the whites, the most stainless and aromatic is the Müller Thurgau Igt Vigneti delle Dolomiti. The never bitter smoothness of its taste, the intense fragrance of its scent evokes grape fruit as well as floral aromas and persuasiveness. Every sip of it is like a dense caress.”