Tuscany
4 wine routes
All 4 Tuscany drives
Page 3 of 11
Italian Food and Wine Pairing Guide, Page 3
Pairings at a Glance
Showing 21–30 of 109 dishes
Casoncelli (Casoncelli alla bergamasca)
Crescent-shaped stuffed pasta from Bergamo, filled with beef, Grana Padano, amaretti biscuits, raisins, pear and breadcrumbs, dressed with butter, sage and pancetta. A Lombard Sunday primo. Pairs with Valcalepio Rosso or a structured Valtellina red.
Perfect grape varieties
Also worth trying
Appellations to explore
Cavallucci
Cavallucci are the Sienese medieval spice cookies, pale hard biscuits studded with candied peel, walnuts and anise. The tradition is to dunk them in Vin Santo between courses of a long Tuscan meal. Vin Santo del Chianti Classico DOC, from Trebbiano Toscano and Malvasia dried on cane racks, is the only right answer; the cookie was built for the wine.
Perfect grape varieties
Also worth trying
Malvasia
Sangiovese
Appellations to explore
Cavatelli con broccoli
Cavatelli con Broccoli is the Basilicata-Puglia workers' pasta, hand-shaped cavatelli with broccoli florets, chilli, garlic and anchovy. The dish is monks' cooking from the Matera sassi. Aglianico del Vulture DOC brings the mountain backbone; Fiano di Avellino DOCG or Greco di Tufo DOCG hold the white line for lighter versions.
Appellations to explore
BasilicataIGT
MateraDOC
Aglianico del TaburnoDOCG
Aglianico del VultureDOC
Aglianico del Vulture SuperioreDOCG
Cavatelli con Peperoni Cruschi (Cavatelli con peperoni cruschi)
Hand-rolled cavatelli pasta tossed with crisped Senise peppers, breadcrumbs toasted in olive oil, and pecorino di Filiano. The signature primo piatto of Lucanian home cooking. Pairs with Aglianico del Vulture or a fresh Matera DOC red.
Appellations to explore
Aglianico del TaburnoDOCG
Aglianico del VultureDOC
Aglianico del Vulture SuperioreDOCG
BasilicataIGT
Castel del Monte Rosso RiservaDOCG
Ciceri e tria
Ciceri e Tria is the Salento Christmas Eve classic, half the pasta boiled and half fried crisp, tossed with chickpeas and rosemary. The fried pasta is what makes the dish; it crackles against the soft chickpeas. Negroamaro rosato from Salento DOC is the local light-red choice; a young Primitivo di Manduria DOC takes the heavier renditions.
Perfect grape varieties
Also worth trying
Appellations to explore
Cjarson
Cjarson are the Friulian sweet-savoury ravioli, filled with ricotta, potato, sugar, raisin and cinnamon, served with brown butter and smoked ricotta. The dish belongs to the Carnia valleys. Friulano from Collio DOC or Ribolla Gialla from Collio Goriziano DOC handle the sweet-savoury tension; Picolit pairs with the dessert-leaning version.
Perfect grape varieties
Also worth trying
Appellations to explore
Collio Goriziano/CollioDOC
Friuli Colli OrientaliDOC
Alto Adige/SüdtirolDOC
Colli Orientali del Friuli PicolitDOCG
Friuli/Friuli Venezia GiuliaDOC
Coniglio alla ligure
Coniglio alla Ligure is the Ligurian coastal rabbit, browned in olive oil with Taggiasca olives, pine nuts, rosemary and a splash of Vermentino. The dish comes from the hills between Imperia and Sanremo. Rossese di Dolceacqua DOC is the canonical pairing, a pale light red with enough herbal lift to mirror the rosemary; Vermentino di Colli di Luni DOC takes the white side.
Perfect grape varieties
Rossese
Also worth trying
Appellations to explore
Cinque Terre/Cinque Terre SciacchetràDOC
Rossese di Dolceacqua/DolceacquaDOC
Val di CorniaDOC
Vermentino di GalluraDOCG
Vermentino di SardegnaDOC
Cotoletta alla bolognese
Cotoletta alla Bolognese is Emilia-Romagna's veal cutlet, breaded and butter-fried then topped with prosciutto crudo and shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano while still hot. The cheese half-melts; the prosciutto keeps its cure. Lambrusco di Sorbara or Grasparossa di Castelvetro, both sparkling, are the non-negotiable pairing: the fizz is designed for exactly this amount of fat.
Perfect grape varieties
Also worth trying
Appellations to explore
ValtenesiDOC
Barbera d'AlbaDOC
Barbera d'AstiDOCG
Barbera del MonferratoDOC
Barbera del Monferrato SuperioreDOCG
Cotoletta alla Milanese
Cotoletta alla Milanese is the Lombard pan-fried veal, bone-in rib cut, pounded flat, breaded and cooked in clarified butter. The Austro-Hungarian Vienna-schnitzel argument has been going on for 200 years; Milan is the winner on the butter. Oltrepo Pavese Bonarda is the Lombard red of choice; Franciacorta DOCG is the celebration bottle; a lighter Pinot Nero suits the summer version with rocket and tomato.
Perfect grape varieties
Bonarda
Also worth trying
Appellations to explore
Cozze arraganate
Cozze arraganate are Bari's gratinated mussels, opened and stuffed with oregano-garlic breadcrumbs, finished in the oven until the tops go golden. Puglia runs on mussels from the Mar Piccolo and Taranto. Verdeca from Locorotondo DOC or a Fiano from Salento IGT has the salt-lifting acidity the dish asks for; a young Negroamaro works if the mussels carry a tomato note.
Perfect grape varieties
Verdeca
Also worth trying
