You've mastered layering pasta, sauce, and cheese. However, the secret to elevating your lasagna lies in the perfect glass of wine. It elevates the meal, transforming it into a memorable culinary experience. Discover the wine pairings that can help make your lasagna dinner truly unforgettable.
The Best Wine Pairing with Lasagna
Lasagna is the ultimate comfort food that unites families around the dinner table. This Italian classic has grown beyond its traditional origins, now featuring a wide range of variations, from hearty meat-based dishes to seafood options and fresh vegetarian recipes.
Whether you're preparing Nonna's traditional Sunday dish or trying a gourmet white lasagna, there's a wine that will enhance it, turning a simple weeknight dinner into something truly memorable.
Understanding the Flavours in Lasagna
The goal with wine pairings is to achieve balance, contrast, and harmony between your food and wine. With lasagna, you are working with multiple layers of complex flavours: the acidity from tomato sauce, the richness from cheese and meat, the earthiness from vegetables, and the creamy texture from béchamel or ricotta.
When choosing the best wine to pair with lasagna, consider the dominant flavours in your specific recipe. A meat lasagna with a hearty tomato sauce will call for different wine qualities than a delicate seafood version with white sauce. The key is matching the wine's intensity with that of the dish.
Classic Meat Lasagna
Traditional meat lasagna combines beef or pork with rich tomato sauce, herbs, and plenty of cheese. This hearty dish provides an ideal match for robust red wines that can handle its intensity.
Chianti Classico from Italy is a natural choice for wine pairing with lasagna. This Italian red offers high acidity that cuts through the richness of cheese and meat while complementing the tomato sauce beautifully. The wine's earthy undertones mirror the herbs commonly found in traditional lasagna recipes.
Zinfandel (California has some great options), brings enough boldness to match the meat and spice levels, making it an excellent wine to drink with lasagna when you want something fruit-forward yet substantial.
For something with herbaceous notes that mirror the herbs often used in this dish, consider Cabernet Franc. This grape variety, which can be grown right here in Ontario's Niagara region, provides the perfect balance of earthiness and structure to complement your meat lasagna.
Vegetarian Lasagna
Vegetarian lasagna usually includes mushrooms, spinach, zucchini, and ricotta, often with a tomato or béchamel base. These lighter, more delicate flavours call for wines that won't overpower the vegetables.
Pinot Noir is a perfect choice for vegetarian lasagna. Its light body and earthy notes complement mushrooms and herbs well, while its bright acidity offers a nice contrast to creamy ricotta. Ontario produces some outstanding Pinot Noirs that highlight these qualities beautifully.
Chardonnay, especially unoaked or lightly oaked versions, works wonderfully with vegetarian lasagna that features béchamel sauce and roasted vegetables. The wine's natural acidity and subtle richness complement the creamy textures without competing with delicate vegetable flavours.
Gamay offers a fruit-forward, fresh alternative that's perfect for lighter, vegetable-focused lasagna. This grape variety provides enough body to complement the dish while keeping a bright, approachable character.
Seafood Lasagna With White Sauce
Seafood lasagna with shrimp, scallops, and creamy white sauce pairs best with wines that have enough acidity to balance the richness and enhance the subtle seafood flavours.
Sauvignon Blanc is often considered the best wine pairing for lasagna when seafood is involved. Its crisp acidity and citrus notes provide a refreshing contrast to the creaminess while enhancing the natural flavours of the seafood.
Sparkling Rosé might sound unconventional, but it can be brilliant with seafood lasagna. The bubbles help cleanse the palate between bites, while the wine's acidity cuts through rich cream sauces.
Spicy or Sausage Lasagna
When your lasagna includes spicy sausage, pepper flakes, and garlic, choose wines that can balance the heat while offering a crisp, refreshing contrast.
Barbera, a red grape varietal indigenous to Italy, provides vibrant acidity and low tannins, making it fruit-forward enough to complement spicy dishes without overpowering your palate. This Italian red wine is an excellent choice to pair with lasagna, especially when it’s spicy.
Syrah or Shiraz brings bold, peppery notes that mirror the spice levels in your lasagna. Australian Shiraz offers the perfect combination of fruit and spice to complement this style of lasagna.
Lambrusco, a chilled, fizzy red wine from Italy, provides balance for spicy lasagna. Its slight effervescence and fruit-forward character help cool the palate while maintaining enough body to complement the dish.
White Lasagna
White lasagna often includes chicken, creamy béchamel sauce, ricotta, parmesan, and spinach. These rich, creamy flavours pair well with wines that have enough acidity to balance them.
Chenin Blanc provides balanced acidity with a hint of richness that pairs well with creamy sauces. You can find some great Chenin Blancs from South Africa, the Loire Valley in France, and even Niagara!
Viognier, found in France's Rhône region, is a floral, full-bodied white that pairs beautifully with cream and poultry. This grape variety creates wines with enough texture and complexity to stand up to rich white lasagna while maintaining elegance.
Off-dry Riesling works especially well with saltier cheeses and creamy sauces. Rieslings offer the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity to complement white lasagna's rich flavours.
Discover Your Favourite Wine on a Niagara Winery Tour
The Niagara Region features world-class wineries where you can discover your ideal lasagna wine pairing while enjoying the scenic beauty of wine country.
Our team at Winery Guys Tours makes it easy and enjoyable to explore Niagara-on-the-Lake wineries with our expertly curated experiences. Our Wine & Charcuterie with Lunch Break tour visits three wineries and includes a wine-making facility tour, perfect for understanding how different wines are made and how they pair with various foods. For a more intimate experience, consider our Private VIP Tour, which takes you to four wineries for tastings, accompanied by a wine and charcuterie pairing.
For groups looking to celebrate, the Bachelorette Tour or Celebrations and Corporate packages offer the perfect setting to explore bold reds, crisp whites, and sparkling wines right at their source. Whether you're planning a foodie weekend getaway or a private party tour, Winery Guys Tours guides you through a flavourful wine adventure in Ontario's premier wine region.
Our experts at Winery Guys Tours provide more than just wine tasting journeys. We offer experiences that you and your loved ones will talk about for years to come, all while discovering the perfect wines to complement your favourite lasagna recipes.
Raise a Glass to Perfect Pairings
The beauty of wine pairing lies in experimentation and discovery. What works for one lasagna recipe might not work for another, and that's part of the fun. You can start with our recommendations, but don't be afraid to try new combinations and discover your personal preferences.
Ready to take your wine knowledge to the next level? Book a Niagara wine tour with Winery Guys Tours and let your taste buds lead the way to discovering the perfect lasagna and wine combinations in one of Canada's most beautiful wine regions.