July 29th, Nat'l Lasagne Day

Talk about a great holiday! Who doesn't love lasagne? Meaty, cheesy, saucy. So we'll stop drooling over the thought of a hot plate of lasagne and figure out what wine to pair. This one is pretty easy. It's an Italian dish so an Italian-style wine. Or maybe it's not that easy.

Barbera, Sangiovese, or Zinfandel!

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Barbera (bar-bare-ah) - Widely planted in Italy. Good acidity to stand up to Italian cooking with tart fruit flavors. Mostly it's blended with other grapes but you can find it at as single varietal. It's lighter than Sangiovese or Zinfandel.

Sangiovese (san-joh-vay-zay) - This is the main grape you find in a Chianti. The flavors are spicy cherry and it has good acidity to stand up to tomatoes. Also goes well with common herbs used in Italian cooking like thyme and basil.

Zinfandel - Known as Primitivo in Italy this is the classic American wine to pair with most Italian-style meals. Anything that may have meats that are a little spicy or smoky or most dishes with tomato sauce work well with this hearty red.

If your lasagne is more cheesy, less meaty, and maybe less tomato-y, or even vegetarian, Chardonnay, sparkling wine or Pinot Noir might work. Just know real lasagne has beef, sausage, maybe pork and prosciutto and requires a real red wine. There's always somebody trying to mess up a good meal ...