Enjoying a nice bowl of fresh pasta? While steak and wine are often touted as the perfect pairing, pasta is also a complex pairing for wine. But with so many pasta types, cooking styles, and sauces, pairing pasta with wine is a complex task. We decided to try out the new pasta-tasting menu at Massara, a Southern Italian restaurant in New York helmed by Chef Stefano Secchi of Rezdôra (a one Michelin-starred restaurant).
“Michael Duffy and the somm team has done well in the pairing,” said Chef Stefano Secchi. “Luckily, the wines on our list pair well with the food eaten in the region…a strong ethos and throughline of our restaurants.”
How to pair wine with pasta
According to Michael Duffy, Corporate Wine Director at Rezdôra and Massara, “the wine is always chosen in response to the food — strong flavors, texture, regionality, and story all factor into pairing a dish. Sometimes, the vegetarian substitute for a dish plays well with the original wine, but sometimes, an entirely different wine is called for.” Essentially, this means is that the range of wine pairings can vary from classic to unique.
For instance, Duffy’s favorite is the gnocchi with ‘nduja on Massara’s pasta tasting, which is paired with Marco de Bartoli’s dry Zibibbo, ‘Pietranera.’ “The wine is salty and dry but intensely aromatic,” explains Duffy. “With notes of stone fruits, white flowers, and sea spray. The wine’s aromatics are a foil for the subtle spice of the ‘nduja, and this is a pairing powered by contrast. Few people expect a white wine with this course, but it has turned out to be among the best received of any of our pairings.”
The pasta tasting menu at Massara
Luckily, we were able to sample the pasta-tasting menu at Massara to understand the pairings firsthand. Priced at $95 for five courses of pasta, the optional wine pairing is a separate $95. The price tag is high but worth it if you’re interested in unique pasta and wine pairings. Keep in mind that while there are five courses, the servings are on the smaller end. Larger appetites might remain hungry after all five courses.
The courses progress from lighter, seafood-focused pasta (memories of “lievito madre” — squid ink, toasted yeast, and caviar) to rich ragus to the final pasta that replicates the flavors of a cheese course (bottone de castagna — chestnut, marsala & orange). The accompanying wines are skillfully paired, particularly the sparking and light ‘Numerocinque’ Spumante Dosaggio Zero Col Fondo 2020, excellent with the briny squid ink and caviar of the first course, and the aforementioned Marco de Bartoli’s dry Zibibbo, ‘Pietranera’ with the gnocchi.
Keep in mind that, like many Italian tasting menus, seasonality is a focus. This means that both pasta and wine pairings will constantly shift at Massara. “Our wine pairings are part of a living, organic program that, through creativity and change, demonstrates the bounty and quality of Italian wine produced today,” said Duffy.
