A tangy and spicy traditional Neapolitan pasta dish, first invented in the mid-20th century, made with tomato sauce, Gaeta olives and capers: spaghetti alla puttanesca is a classic pasta favorite that is easy and quick to put together. So, what is the best wine pairing for this flavorful dish? Here are the suggestions from expert Sensorial Wine Analyst Luca Maroni.
Spaghetti alla Puttanesca with a Blend of Falanghina and Biancolella
Ravello Bianco Doc Costa d’Amalfi – Marisa Cuomo
“By now Marisa Cuomo’s whites are as bright and shining in olfactory fruitiness as their magnificent compositional grapes, such as in the dense Ravello Bianco Doc Costa d’Amalfi, a wine whose stainless and floral reflections derive from the juicy flesh and delicate aroma of the grapes themselves.”
The first wine selected by Luca Maroni for pairing with spaghetti alla puttanesca is straw yellow in color with greenish highlights and a characteristic fruity aroma mixed with floral notes. Balanced flavor supported by a slightly acidic note enhances its aromatic freshness.
Spaghetti alla Puttanesca with a Charmat Method Brut Blend of Lambrusco Grasparossa and Pinot Nero
Rosè de Noir Brut – Cleto Chiarli
“An oenological hand that increases in transformative clarity, the mighty grapes grown and employed by Cleto Chiarli Tenute Agricole. The wine’s sensory reverberations are even more stainless and fruity creating a final product that possesses a truly limpid profile that is quite unique in wines of this type – a rare, spirited pleasure. This raspberry of the Rosè de Noir Brut shines in its crisp froth.”
Violet pink, light, and well-structured, with dense aromas of strawberry and raspberry, the bubbly chosen by Luca Maroni to accompany spaghetti alla puttanesca to the palate is round, lively, and seductive.
Spaghetti alla Puttanesca with a Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Aglianico, and Merlot
Montevetrano – Montevetrano
“This exquisite execution confirms the greatness of Montevetrano, the namesake label of the San Cipriano Picentino winery. On the nose, it opens with a fabulous balsamic, mentholated, sweetly chlorophyll vein. Aged in oak, the wine has strength and intensity. It is like a siren with a sweetness of voice and a profusion of blackberry, mint, and sour cherry, together with the chlorophyll-like, lymphatic sweetness of toothpaste. With just a glance or a sip, the wine’s creamy coat of extract makes delivers a silky texture. It’s perfectly soft-tannic souplesse offers velvety elegance, great persuasiveness, and harmonious complexity.”