Which wine with carpaccio

Which wine goes with carpaccio? Carpaccio remains a staple on many menus in the Netherlands. It also often appears as a starter at family dinners during the holidays. But which wine should you drink with carpaccio?

Simplicity is best

A carpaccio in Italy looks very different than in the Netherlands. The concept of "less is more" doesn't always apply here. Sometimes it looks more like a complete meal salad than an appetizer.

My tip: keep it simple, but use the best ingredients. Get your meat from the butcher, Parmesan from the cheesemonger, use the best olive oil you can find, and a little sea salt and coarse pepper. That's all you need. You don't even need a tower of arugula on top.

Stay away from that nasty truffle mayo.

Pairing wine and carpaccio

Consider the weight of the dish. It's raw meat with few overpowering flavors. A light dish, so keep the wine light as well. The best pairing is a lambrusco. You didn't see that coming, did you? And I don't mean one of those bottom-shelf bottles you drank gallons of in your teens. No, a nice lambrusco, like Cantina della Volta – Sorbara Metodo Classico.

Your first instinct might be a red wine, since we're dealing with meat. But the days of "red with meat, white with fish" are long gone. Precisely because it's a light dish, it's better to serve a white wine, for example Monte del Fra Soave Classico.

Would you prefer red? Then choose a light version, for example a sangiovese Or a Nero d'Avola. It doesn't have to be a super fancy wine; consider the simplicity of the dish. Fruity with good acidity is key here. Avoid red wines with long oak aging, as they are generally too heavy for carpaccio.

Still a little extra

Can't resist and still want to serve something extra? Then a little shaved truffle over the carpaccio is a heavenly treat. You could still go for Sangiovese, but you could also opt for a (light) Nebbiolo. Nebbiolo comes from Piedmont, where truffles are plentiful in season. A perfect combination. My favorite in this category is the nebbiolo from Moncheiro Carbone from Langhe.

Getting a taste for it?

Do you enjoy experimenting with wine and food pairings and would you rather spend hours in the kitchen (with a glass of wine in your hand, of course)?

Then I have a great tip for you: The Wine and Food Bible  by Victoria Moore – a reference work, but written in a catchy way and packed with wine and food combinations.