Minestrone

Minestrone

Assuming a thick Italian vegetable soup of tomato, beans, pasta and seasonal greens, finished with parmesan and sometimes pesto.

Minestrone is light, savoury and green, with the acidity of tomato and the umami of parmesan. It wants a dry, fresh wine with good acidity and a herbal edge, and little tannin, since tomato and green vegetables make tannin taste bitter and metallic. Heavy, oaky wines overwhelm a simple soup.

Pairs Perfectly. Verdicchio, Marche, Italy. Lemon, green almond and herbs on high acidity with a faintly bitter finish that suits greens and beans, and enough body for pasta and parmesan.

Pairs Well. Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, Italy. Light, fresh and lemony with a clean finish, an easy match for a vegetable soup and good value.

Pairs Well. Cinsault, Languedoc, France. A light, perfumed red with red berry and very soft tannin, for those who want red with soup.

Worth Seeking Out

Textured and mineral with herbal notes, very good with pesto and parmesan.

Avoid

Tannic reds and oaked whites. Tannin turns metallic against tomato and greens, and oak overwhelms the soup.

Failing That

A Côtes du Rhône blanc, France.

If All Else Fails

Albariño, Rías Baixas.

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