White wine with spaghetti & meatballs ?

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

I usually prefer whites with tomato sauce —- pretty much anything crisp and dry. I agree with John about Champagne here, too.

[Adam_Frisch]

Skin contact whites I think was a good suggestion. There phenolics and astringency offset the sugary tomato sauce. And they’re lower in acid. Then again, Riesling goes with everything!

[Lee_Short]

Timorasso. Dry Vouvray. Pinot Gris.

If there are green bell peppers in the sauce, gruner veldliner could work.

[Marcus_Goodfellow]

Good Lambrusco would work very well. Also the Rosé called Il Mimo(Nebbiolo) from Piemonte would be one of my choices.

Aromatic also whites work well.

[Markus_S]

Chateau Simone blanc

[Steve_Costigan]

I like the Misco Verdicchio and think it would work here. I expect Grecco di Tufo and Gavi would also play well. The Vietti Roero Arneis would probably be fun. None of my suggestions would be very expensive, so you could open a few and go with what fits best to your tastes.

Cheers,
fred

I forgot about Grecco di Tufo. I can see that. I’ve enjoyed a few with several Italian restaurant meals. Probably an under rated variety.

[GregT]

Tomato and basil sauces can work well with many whites that have both body and some acid.

This is a case where I think a sparkling wine would not be that great. I don’t see that it would add anything to the food or vice versa. It seems to me they’d been playing on different fields.

Agreed. And as Arv said, some people put sugar in tomato sauce (!) for whatever reason. Like it’s supposed to make the acidity go away? Ripe tomatoes have plenty of sugar on their own.

You could approach it several ways. One, leave out the tomato sauce entirely and make little tiny meatballs. Two, toss them with some quickly sauteed tomatoes. Three, make a sauce but don’t be too heavy handed when serving it, and don’t ladle it on top but toss it together. And then, an Italian white like Verdicchio or Vernaccia could be OK. Assyrtiko would be OK, Sauv Blanc or Picpoul or Muscadet might be OK. I’d go with high-acid versions of them, particularly Sauv Blanc can come in all kinds of iterations. I’d stick with the Loire for one.

But then it really depends on how you’re serving your food.

If it’s like the first pic, I’d probably serve something different from what I’d serve w the second.

[Michae1_P0wers]

I’d probably quickly eat two large helpings of the spaghetti and meatballs, clear the table, then open a white wine. I wouldn’t try to pair them.

I agree Alan. Or have a glass of white while cooking then switch to red. It’s not that a white would be an objectively bad pairing, but that there are so many great Italian reds I like with a tomato sauce. I doubt I’d ever enjoy pairing that dish with white as much as a red. Skin contact whites and certain varietals which show some more traditionally red wine characteristics might be a good call if forced to do so, but I’d still prefer Chianti, Nebbiolo (or blends), or some Sicilian red options.

[jon_leifer]

Some of the Tiefenbrunner whites have worked well for me, also the Sauvignon blanc from San Leonardo…Arneis works as well

[DougS]

I’ve tried so many whites with red sauce. For me, none have been remotely successful, including sparkling. The sauce always obliterates the taste of the wine. A rosé sparkling or still, if that’s an option, is the way I would go.

[RichardFlack]

Alto Adige Pinot Grigio suggestions are good , also A Gini Soave Classico Superiore for example. As already said the dish could come in a variety of firms.
In the lower acid side, perhaps Rousanne if it’s ok to leave Italy.

Maybe pick a wine then tweak the sauce to match?

[RichardFlack]

Beef/pork/veal meatballs, basil tomato sauce.
Any thoughts?

Sorry if I missed it but, errrm why?
Absent the tomato I can see some interesting options if the white wine is a GIG.

[Jim_Stewart]

Beef/pork/veal meatballs, basil tomato sauce.
Any thoughts?

Sorry if I missed it but, errrm why?
Absent the tomato I can see some interesting options if the white wine is a GIG.

I recently found myself looking down at a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs and immediately thought that I would like a glass of wine with it. In this particular instance no red wine was available, but several different bottles of white were on hand. I passed on the white wine, but it got me speculating what type of white wines might work.

. . . Be on the lookout for a possible followup thread - “Spaghetti and Meatballs White Wine of the Week”