Pasta Primavera & Wine Pairings

Pasta Primavera pairs best with crisp and acidic white wines such as Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and Soave.

Recipes vary for Primavera sauce, however, traditionally, you’d use your spring veggies, such as bell peppers, zucchini, carrots, garlic, onions, and broccoli, to make a sauce for tri-coloured noodles. Since its invention, Primavera Sauce has evolved, and any vegetable seems to be fair game. My pairings below are swayed more towards the traditional style of Primavera Sauce, however, they should all pair nicely with most veggies in your Pasta Primavera. As such, I’ve rated all my pairings for Pasta Primavera “4 stars” as I do not know all the ingredients you are using.

When pairing wine with Pasta Primavera, you want a light and acidic white wine that won’t interfere with the fresh vegetable flavours. Thus, lighter white wines work best. Full-bodied white wines containing Oak, such as Chardonnay, will overpower the delicate flavours of your vegetables.

Red wines ought to be kept away from Pasta Primavera as red and black fruit flavours aren’t particularly lovely with spring vegetables and fresh herbs. However, If your Pasta Primavera contains tomatoes and heartier vegetables like mushrooms, Rosé, Beaujolais, Valpolicella Classico, or Pinot Noir will pair up just fine.

Best Wine with Pasta Primavera

Pinot Grigio & Pasta Primavera Pairing

Pasta Primavera is an American invention, and Pinot Grigio is a popular Italian wine. What makes Pinot Grigio good with Pasta Primavera is that the fruity apple, citrus, lemon and pear flavours complement Pasta Primavera’s fresh flavours. With Pinot Grigio, I often get a stone or minerality note that blends in perfectly with the vegetable flavours. Finally, Pinot Grigio has a subtle smoky flavour, which works well with a Primavera Sauce where some of the vegetables may have been grilled beforehand.

Sauvignon Blanc & Pasta Primavera Pairing

Sauvignon Blanc is a dry and crisp white wine that immediately bonds with the Primavera Sauce and highlights all the vegetable flavours with its electrifying acidity. On top of its lemon, lime, and grapefruit flavours, you will also find a hint of minerality, steel, stone, and smoke, which complements the vegetables’ earthier flavours in your Pasta Primavera. Finally, Sauvignon Blanc is known to be grassy or herbaceous, which adds an additional touch of spring freshness to your Pasta dish.

I love Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region of New Zealand (Such as Kim Crawford or Oyster Bay) and almost drink that exclusively.  I find these wines to be consistent year after year and they hit all the notes in what I want out of a Sauvignon Blanc.  New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc was also the first style of white wine that opened my eyes to how delicious wine could be.  With that said, I’ve rarely had a Sauvignon Blanc from anywhere else in the world that I did not enjoy and fully admit I’m stuck in my ways with NZ Sauvignon Blanc.

Riesling & Pasta Primavera Pairing

Riesling is a crisp white wine with tart flavours of lemon, lime, peach, apples apricot and minerals.  Riesling virtually can pair up with anything, yet in North America, it’s typically overlooked as a white wine.  I feel as though people often think Riesling is a sweet wine and are turned off by this.  And many Rieslings do range from slightly sweet to syrupy sweet.  However, you’ll also find bone-dry Riesling bottles that will be fantastic with your Pasta Primavera.

I myself prefer an off-dry Riesling, which has a kiss of sugar.  And with Pasta Primavera, I enjoy a slightly spritzy off-dry Riesling.  The tiny bubbles and the wine’s acidity help clear the carbohydrates of the pasta away, making the Pasta Primavera taste incredibly fresh and vibrant.  Meanwhile, the mineral notes of Riesling complement the earthier vegetable flavours.

Rosé & Pasta Primavera Pairing

If your Pasta Primavera contains tomatoes, a dry Rosé is highly recommended as the strawberry, raspberry and cherry flavours are lovely with the sweet tomato notes. Rosé may look sweet, however, it’s often made in a dry and refreshing style. With plenty of acidity to mingle with all the vegetables, Rosé will keep your palate clean and your spirits high.

Beaujolais-Villages & Pasta Primavera Pairing

Beaujolais-Villages is a fun and fruity red wine from France that is typically drank young.  Bursting with flavours of cherry, raspberry and strawberry, Beaujolais will complement any tomatoes in your Pasta Primavera sauce.  Beaujolais-Villages also has notes of pepper, earth and bubblegum, which add additional notes of flavour to your Pasta Primavera dish.

High in acidity, Beaujolais is also low in both alcohol and tannin, meaning it’s not a heavy drinking wine.  Thus, its light and friendly approach to life make Beaujolais a wonderful companion to the spring vegetable freshness of Pasta Primavera.

My preference for Pasta Primavera is white wine, as I feel they mingle better with the vegetable flavours, however, if I were to have a red alongside it, Beaujolais would be my top choice.