Mortadella

Mortadella

Mortadella is silky, fatty and gently spiced, studded with pistachio and cubes of pure fat. It wants acidity or bubbles to clear the fat and a light touch of fruit, with little tannin, since a heavy red coats an already rich mouthful. It comes from Bologna, and the sparkling red of the same region answers it best.

Pairs Perfectly. Lambrusco Secco from Emilia-Romagna, Italy, from a serious producer. The Lambrusco category is unreliable enough that the producer matters: most of what reaches export shelves is sweet mass market stuff, so seek a serious dry secco bottling. Its bubbles and fresh acidity scrub the fat from the palate while the dark, low tannin fruit meets the pork.

Pairs Well. Fleurie, Beaujolais, France. Light, red fruited and fresh with almost no tannin, served cool beside sliced mortadella.

Pairs Well. English sparkling Blanc de Noirs, Sussex, England. Made from black grapes, with red fruit and bubbles that cut the fat and the salt.

Worth Seeking Out

Ruché from Piedmont, Italy. A rare, perfumed red with rose and pepper and gentle tannin, which lifts the spice in the sausage.

Avoid

Heavy, tannic, oaky reds. Tannin and oak coat a fatty mouthful and bury the delicate pistachio.

Failing That

A Prosecco, Veneto, Italy.

If All Else Fails

Beaujolais Villages.

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