The best wines to pair with Minestrone Soup are earthy and fruity red wines with plenty of acidity, such as Chianti, Beaujolais, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo or Barbera. Red wines with lots of tannin, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, do not work with Minestrone Soup as tannin clashes with the acidity of the tomatoes in your Soup.
White wines such as Chardonnay, Vermentino, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc also work with Minestrone Soup, however, I never recommend them. I’m not too fond of the temperature contrast of cold wine and hot soup as it hurts my teeth going between the two. In addition, I feel the earthy and fruity red flavours of red wines mesh better with the silky tomato, starchy pasta, beans, and earthy winter vegetables of Minestrone Soup. If you don’t mind the temperature change, you’ll find some good pairings in the chart below.
Best Wine with Minestrone Soup
Chianti Classico & Minestrone Soup Pairing
Chianti Classico is a medium-bodied red wine that has high acidity and moderate tannin. Bursting with flavours of cherry, strawberry, and blackberry, Chianti gets along great with the tomatoes in your Minestrone Soup. Meanwhile, you’ll also find flavours of smoke, earth, herbs, leather and spice that go great with the beans, pasta, potatoes, carrots, and other vegetables in your Minestrone soup.
Chianti Classico’s texture is rich, smooth and satiny, matching your soup’s broth. Meanwhile, the acidity of the wine further accentuates the delicious flavours of all the chunky vegetables.
Chianti is also a fairly accessible red wine. It’s easy to find on store shelves if you’re making your Minestrone Soup at home, and the majority of all Italian restaurants should serve it by the glass. If you are enjoying your Minestrone Soup at a chain restaurant, Chianti Classico might be harder to come by.
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo & Minestrone Soup Pairing
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is a medium to full-bodied red wine featuring medium acidity and tannin. Fleshy, dep and inky, expect dark flavours of blackberry, black cherry, black pepper, earth, plum and spice, which pair perfectly with the savoury flavours of Minestrone Soup.
If your Minestrone is just an opener for an Italian Meal, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo can be carried over to other dishes such as grilled beef or game, lamb, hearty pasta, and roasts
Barbera & Minestrone Soup Pairing
Barbera is a low(er) alcohol and light to medium bodied red wine with high acidity and low tannin. Expect moderate flavours of red cherry, plum, spice, black pepper, herbs and spice.
As Barbera is low(er) in alcohol, it makes for a fantastic lunchtime pairing with Minestrone Soup, as you won’t head back to the office (or into the rest of your day) feeling tipsy, sleepy or full. The high acidity of Barbera gets along with the tomatoes in your soup, cutting through the richness of the soup and making each new sip taste fresh and exciting.
Beaujolais & Minestrone Soup Pairing
Beaujolais Villages is a bargain version of Pinot Noir as it is inexpensive but features light but bright flavours of raspberry, strawberry, and cherries, along with traces of earth, spice and smoke. Low in alcohol, Beaujolais makes makes for a fun red wine for a lunchtime bowl of Minestrone Soup and perhaps a side sandwich (salmon, turkey, cheese, chicken, tuna and ham are all great sandwich matches with Beaujolais)
Côtes du Rhône & Minestrone Soup Pairing
Cotes du Rhone is a blend of Grenache with a variety of up to 23 different grapes, which might include Mourvèdre, Syrah or Carignan. Blended to be food-friendly, Cotes du Rhone features juicy and smooth flavours of raspberry, strawberry, plum and cherry. In addition, you’ll find notes of black pepper, earth, spice and herbs.
There are hundreds of different recipes for Minestrone soup, and Cotes du Rhone is bound to pair with most of them, provided you stick to a Cotes du Rhone that goes no higher than medium tannin. The earthier flavours of the wine love the root or winter vegetables in the soup, and the juicy fruit flavours of Cotes du Rhone go along great with the tomato paste-based broth.