What wine to use with

Question

what type of wine goes best with shrimp alfredo? What about with baked ziti or other pastas with marinara sauces?

Answer 1

Shrimp alfredo begs for a good dry white. I would suggest an Italian Pinot Grigio or a French Chardonnay like Pouilly-Fuisse or Meursault.

I have one rule I always use for Marinara sauces;

"Italian Sauces...then...Italian Wine"

The choices are many. My favorites include;

DaVinci Chianti Classico Riserva

Antinori Peppoli Chianti Classico

Banfi Sant' Antimo C*m Laude

Melini Chianti Classico La Selvanella Riserva

All of the above are between $25 and $40

If you are looking for something a bit less expensive try;

Carpineto's "Dogajolo"..Very nice and surprisingly only about $10

Answer 2

Like bodyparts, we all have opinions, so please allow me the arrogance to toss in my 2 cents.  Start with the 2nd pairing first.  I could only suggest Cab/Merlot with marinara if you really don't care about the marinara and love Cab.  Otherwise, I would suggest staying as far away as possitble from high tannin wines.  Acidity makes tannin feel harder.  Tomato is acidic.  Drink Cab with Tomato sauce and the back of your mouth will dry out like a black hole.  My favorite, Barbara d'Alba.  Not too many grapes out there that combines high acidity and soft tannins as well as this wine.  Barbara's acidity knocks down the tomato' acidity and your mouth gets all the flavors.  That's the sweet spot.  As for the Alfredo, Chadonnay's a good option, full bodied wine to stand up to the weight of the alfredo sauce.  Or you could go the other way and have a simple, clean Soave from Veneto.  Whether its the Soave or the Barbara, I'm looking to keep the food the centerpiece and wines to compliment, not dominate.  And for what its worth, the first place I look for what wine to pair with what I'm eating, is to look to where the food comes from.  No cab's in Italy.  Reds like Barbara and Sangiovese with good acidity and soft tannins dominate.  So there's my two cents.  Hope it helps.

Answer 3

Here's a down and dirty answer:

Shrimp Alfredo - Chardonnay

Pasta with Marinara - Chianti

Answer 4

Shrimp Alredo, I would say a Pino Grigio , Santa Margherita  is my favorite personally. As for other Pastas , well they can go either way with white or red. Baked Ziti, something a long the lines of a Chardonnay would be ok, or even a light red, like a blush wine perhaps. If you are eating Pasta with Heavy Sauce you want to go Lighter, Light sauce you might want to go a little darker. There are many sites that you can go to check this all out. I will post one for you to get you started. If you know even a little about wines you should be able to decide this fairly easy. There are Wine Aficionado's that will be very strict and follow the Unofficial Wine Rules, about White with Poultry and Fish,  and Red with Beef, Pork, or Lamb. They also do the same thing with pasta, desserts and even cigars (I love those too)......

The key here is to get a basic understanding and choose for yourself. Always trust your gut instinct. Well thats how I go with it at least. Gain a little knowledge and go with your instinct.  

Answer 5

If you tend to drink sweeter whites and reds, or drier whites or reds, you could maintain that profile, or you can chose a wine to match or even be a bit bolder than what you ate eating.

For seafood with an Alfredo, on the dry side a Chardonnay. Pinot Grigio, Voignier,  or Sauvignon Blanc wines would be nice, too. For something sweeter, look for a Riesling or Gewurztraminer. White wines are best with seafood, chicken and white sauces.

As for the ziti with marinara, on the drier side of red wines look for a Cabernet. But Pinot Noir and Merlot or even Shiraz would be nice and less dry. Then there are sweeter reds that would be good with a spicy marinara, like a sparkling Lambrusco, or my favorite, Marika Nemes Kadarka. Red wines are best with dark meats and tomato based sauces.

A few others worth trying are Ecco Domani Cabernet-Merlot, and Chardonnay-Pinot Grigio blended wines. Alamos Chardonnay, Fetzer Gewurztraminer, Orleans Hill Voignier.