5 of the Best Wines for Italian Food

It’s the weekend. You’re at home, but you’d prefer to be jet-setting to Europe with your BFF Stanley Tucci. And you CAN. “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy” is a beautiful show filled with interesting people, incredible chefs, stunning scenery, and most importantly the charming Stanley Tucci. You’ll feel like you’re his personal travel buddy. Warning: this will be torture if you’re carb-conscious. All you’ll want to do is drink wine and eat pasta. And travel. So, we rounded up the best wines for italian food to try while carb-loading and binge-watching #SearchingForItaly.

Make your favorite pasta, pour a glass of one of these wines, and visit Italy from your living room.

(Or, if you’re not in the mood to cook, go to your favorite Italian restaurant, and order one of these wines.)

Best wines for italian food

Drink Italian wine with Italian food

Chianti, obviously, is the perfect choice for any red sauce pastas and pizza. Chianti is a region in Italy, not a grape varietal. Typically, Chianti is majority Sangiovese possibly blended with some other grapes. The Antinori family has been making wine in Italy since 1385, so you can trust they know how to make a wine to pair with Italian food 🍷
Primitivo or Zinfandel is another red wine choice, which typically is bold, tastes like dark fruits, and tends to have a little spice. It’s basically the same grape, the label reflects the style of the wine. Callermasters explains, “Those whose wines reflect the Italian style of the grape are called Primitivo and the softer fruitier styles are labelled Zinfandel.”
Sangiovese is another popular Italian red varietal, medium-bodied and great to pair with pasta, pizza, and meat.
Chardonnay will pair with light pastas, risotto, Italian chicken, and seafood dishes. Try the Italian-style California from the Antinori FamilyAntica Chardonnay..
Pinot Grigio is an Italian white, and perfect to pair with a light seafood pasta.

Wine Folly does a deep dive into pairing wine with pasta, if you’d like to read more! (PS – Wine Folly is the best! Read this book if you want to learn more about wine!)

Stanley Tucci’s Easy Marinara Recipe

(BTW, it’s like a double name. I feel if we were friends, I’d call him “Stanley Tucci.” Never “Stan.” Occasionally “Stanley,” but probably mostly the double name.)