Pappardelle

Pappardelle

Assuming wide ribbons of pasta with a slow cooked ragu of beef shin or duck, braised in red wine.

Pappardelle with a slow cooked ragu brings rich, gelatinous meat and a sauce reduced to deep savouriness, and it wants a red with real acidity and firm but not raw tannin. The fat and collagen welcome tannin, but the reduction hardens anything young and coarse. A wine with cherry and dried herb rather than sweet, jammy fruit meets the sauce best.

Pairs Perfectly. Chianti Classico Riserva, Tuscany, Italy. Sangiovese with sour cherry, dried herb and leather, high acidity and firm tannin that the fat of the braise softens. Pappardelle with a slow ragu is Tuscan food, and this is the wine that grew up beside it.

Pairs Well. Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Italy. Soft, dark and plummy with enough acidity, and inexpensive.

Pairs Well. Douro red blend, Portugal. Dark fruit, slate and firm but ripe tannin, made from the grapes that give Port, for a rich beef or duck ragu.

Worth Seeking Out

Negroamaro from Puglia, Italy. Dark cherry with a bitter almond edge and soft tannin, which suits a duck ragu particularly well.

Avoid

Very young, hard tannic reds and sweet, heavily oaked reds. The savoury reduction makes raw tannin bitter, and jammy fruit sits oddly on a braise.

Failing That

A Côtes du Rhône Villages, France.

If All Else Fails

Rioja Crianza, Spain.

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