Wine pairings for your favorite Italian meals

BY PETER M. GIANOTTI
peter.gianotti@newsday.com

Generally, wines should either complement or contrast with food. Here are some recommendations.

Antipasti: Barbera, dolcetto, Orvieto, pinot grigio, Soave

Stuffed artichoke: Frascati, Orvieto

Baked pasta: Chianti, Nero d'Avola

Beans: Chianti

Beef stew: Barolo, Barbaresco, cabernet sauvignon

Braised beef: Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera

Carpaccio: Arneis, Barbera, Sangiovese

Baked clams: Pinot grigio

Calf's liver: Chianti, Barbera

Cannelloni: Dolcetto, Frascati

Chicken with cream sauce: Dolcetto, pinot grigio

Grilled chicken: Chianti

Chicken with red or brown sauce: Chianti, Barbera

Chocolate: Marsala

Cream-sauce pasta: Frascati, Orvieto

Duck: Brunello

Eggplant: Dolcetto, Chianti, Barbera

Fettuccine Alfredo: Gavi, Frascati, Soave

Lightly sauced fish: Gavi, pinot grigio, Soave

Fried seafood: Gavi, Orvieto, pinot grigio

Game: Barolo

Gorgonzola cheese: Amarone, Brunello, Barolo

Grilled seafood: Pinot grigio

Lamb: Cabernet sauvignon, Montepulciano

Lasagna: Chianti, Barbera

Linguine with clam sauce: Pinot grigio, dolcetto

Lobster: Arneis

Meat sauces: Brunello

Mushrooms: Barolo, Chianti

Parmesan cheese: Amarone, Barbera, Chianti

Pasta primavera: Arneis, pinot grigio

Pasta with seafood sauce: Dolcetto, pinot grigio

Pecorino cheese: Amarone, Brunello

Pesto: Dolcetto, chardonnay

Polenta: Soave, dolcetto

Prosciutto: Barbera, dolcetto, pinot grigio

Provolone cheese: Dolcetto, Barolo

Cheese ravioli: Chianti, dolcetto

Risotti: Barolo, Brunello, Gavi

Salads: Pinot grigio

Grilled shellfish: Chardonnay

Raw shellfish: Gavi, Soave

Spaghetti alla carbonara: Barbera, pinot grigio

Spaghetti and meatballs: Barbera, Chianti, dolcetto

Spicy red sauce: Frascati

Steak: Chianti, Barolo, Brunello

Steak alla pizzaiola: Chianti

Tomato sauce: Sangiovese

Truffles: Barolo, Barbaresco

Tuna: Chianti, chardonnay

Veal chop: Dolcetto, Barolo

Veal Marsala: Arneis, Chianti

Veal Parmigiana: Chianti

Veal piccata: Pinot bianco

Venison: Barolo, Barbaresco, Amarone

Zabaglione: Moscato, Marsala

From brooding northern reds to sunny southern whites, wines are made throughout Italy. And they go with the local food there -- and here.

Piedmont produces the great, long-lived red wines of Barolo and Barbaresco. They're made with nebbiolo grapes, which also yield the leaner Gattinara and Ghemme. The most popular Piedmontese reds, however, are the lighter, very versatile dolcetto and Barbera. The province's notable white wines are Gavi, arneis, sparkling Asti and sweeter moscato d'Asti.

The best-known Italian wine is Chianti, which is made in designated zones throughout Tuscany. Chianti Classico and Chianti Classico Riserva are the top wines. Chianti comes from the Sangiovese grape -- a clone of which is brunello, the grape of Tuscany's finest wine, Brunello di Montalcino.

Rosso di Montalcino is fruitier and not as pricey as Brunello. Likewise, the more modest Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. "Super Tuscans" are big reds that sometimes include cabernet sauvignon or merlot as the main grape. Examples include Sassicaia, Ornellaia, Tignanello and SummuS.

The Tre Venezie regions in the northeast offer the country's zesty, popular white wines, among them pinot grigio, chardonnay, Soave, pinot bianco, tocai Friulano and prosecco. And the concentrated red, Amarone della Valpolicella, is from the Veneto, as is the lighter red, Bardolino.

Dry, often fizzy lambrusco originates in Emilia-Romagna; crisp, white Orvieto from Umbria; a ripe, red Montepulciano in Abruzzo; Frascati from Rome; and the hearty red, Taurasi from Campania. Sicily produces fortified Marsala, moscato and malvasia dessert wines, reds made with Nero d'Avola, whites from inzolia and chardonnay.

Pinot grigio and Chianti are on countless Long Island wine lists and consumed with everything.

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