With summer here, we always talk about what wines to pair with this hot season of the year. And while light, fun, crisp whites and easy-drinking fruity reds are normally the go-to during these next few months, at some point you have to sit down and switch it up a little. A long day out in the sun makes for a hungry, thirsty individual that just needs some gastronomic pleasure. Enter Italian comfort food – more specifically pasta!
Now we can go many different directions with this versatile grain. We can mix it with red sauce, meat sauce, and white sauce; with chicken, sausage, or various vegetables and oils. Pasta is filling, and when you want to lay back, relax, and replenish your system with carbs, it presents some awesome wine pairing options.
Below are some familiar Italian dishes along with the perfectly paired wine pick. Let the summer breeze blow and the good wine flow.
Scene One (not pasta but a great way to get ready for some):
The dish: An appetizer of prosciutto and melon
Ingredients: unadulterated! Cured ham and ripe summer melon
The wine: Here is a really fun and light appetizer that brings together sweet and salty, all wrapped into a delicious way to wet your palate. Like any good meal should start, some sort of bubbly will be in order. The Italian Brachetto d’acqui is one of my favorite ways to kick off a meal; awesomely delicious and a touch of sweetness. Good acidity and low alcohol here will go perfectly with the melon and most certainly will hold up to the procuitto. If you have any leftover after your first course (which is doubtful) it makes for a great after dinner drink too… [Read the rest at Cork'd]

Must admit. . . Gary V of Wine Library TV and author of Crush It is a marketing genius. . .I just bought his book. Will share some insights if I get around to actually reading it. . .In the meantime, educate yourselves in the art of beer appreciation.

For all you single malt fanboys and fangirls (we like the peat so partial to Laphroaig), the Wine Library TV guy and blogging godhead share tips on how to enjoy and appreciate this nectar of the gods. Watch and learn.