Introducing pasta salad and wine...this summer's hottest couple
The key to a good food and wine pairing is harmony. Each should enhance the other—the wine making the food more vibrant, and the food bringing out the nuances of the wine.
Often, diners aren't sure what wines match well with the food on the menu. By offering suggestions, you could increase check average, but perhaps more importantly, you extend hospitality. Good hospitality is remembered, and repeat business might just be the return on that investment.
Good rules of thumb when recommending wines:
- Suggest wines that hail from the same region as the dish. So, if serving a pasta with a tangy tomato sauce, perhaps the food-friendly, fruity Chianti would be a good match.
- Pair lighter-style wines with lighter-style foods. For rich or strongly flavored dishes, suggest more complex, robust wines.
Pairing up for Pasta Salads
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Modern pasta salads are a perfect match for summertime eating. They're light and bright, but satisfying and flavorful at the same time. Pairing wine with a pasta salad can be tricky, but when you hit the right combination, you have the makings for a perfect summer meal. Easygoing and refreshing wines are generally the right call, as they complement the sunny, fresh flavors found in today's lighter-style pasta salads.
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Lighter Wine Pairings
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| Rotini Pasta Salad with Spinach and Tomato |
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| Italian Style Orzo and Grilled Chicken Salad |
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| Soba Noodle Salad |
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| Caesar-Seafood Pasta Salad |
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A pasta salad tossed in a vinaigrette can be difficult to match with wine. If too harsh, the vinegar "kills" the palate, and ostensibly renders the wine flat. Choosing KRAFT vinaigrettes, which don't carry harsh high notes, fixes this problem, as does offsetting with sweeter elements in the salad, such as grape tomatoes or red bell peppers. Including a protein, like grilled shrimp or chicken, also buffers the inherent acidity in a vinaigrette-based pasta salad.
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Heartier Wine Pairings
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| BLT Pasta Salad |
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| Greek Olive with Whole Wheat Pasta Salad |
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Although these pasta salads are still light and summery, they bring in more robust flavors, like bacon and kalamata olives. Light to medium-bodied reds offer more structure, and also complement the assertive ingredients. But these bright, fruit-forward reds still work in warm weather.
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