4 Wines Experts Pair with Pasta Salad

From whites to rosés and even a red, sommeliers recommend what you should be drinking with summer’s favorite salad.

Whether you've been inspired by the trending #Pastasaladsummer (600 million views on TikTok) or it's a required menu item for your family barbeques, pasta salad is a summer staple. Are you a traditionalist with a vinaigrette dressing to coat your fusilli? Or does the internet's most divisive condiment, creamy mayo, cover your macaroni? Whichever version of the comfort classic you choose, and whether it's a side dish or a main, there's a wine that complements it.

Riesling with Vinaigrette Pasta Salad

Jeremy Bonia, Co-Owner and Sommelier of Raymonds in St. John’s, Canada, calls riesling the most “food-friendly” wine. Whether you choose a classic mayo-based salad or experiment with vinaigrette dressing, the 2019 Tawse Niagara Riesling complements both. Bonia says, “This riesling starts with lemon blossom nose, ripe apple and Anjou pear in the mouth, a silky-smooth texture and lovely clean acidity to bind it all together. Ripe and fresh. It has a smooth, silky texture and works lovely with pasta salads. Riesling and Canadian riesling, in particular, are no strangers to natural acidity. So, they work great with vinaigrettes.”

2. Chablis with Creamy Pea & Pasta Salad

Fan favorite chardonnay must appear at any backyard barbecue, according to my grandmother (and likely yours), who will inevitably pop an ice cube into her glass. This chardonnay from the Chablis region of France has little to no oaky influence, unlike some Californian versions, making it an ideal pairing for pasta salad. Niall McCotter, the Director of Operations of The Royal Hotel, explains, “I like fat with fat and acid with acid. Of course, the vegetables and the proteins within the salad will influence the ultimate pairing, but I find the fatty quality of mayo to be the guiding light. I look to chardonnay, but nothing too heavy and ideally no oak influence. Texture, tension, and minerality are what excite me for this.” Try 2019 Domaine Testut Chablis Rive Droite.

3. Rosé with Balsamic Tortellini Salad

Summer sipping requires at least one bottle of rosé. Choose rosé for your vinaigrette-based or even balsamic-based salads. Catherin e Fallis, Master Sommelier and Alcohol Professor contributor says, “a tangy, edgy sauce would clash with rich red and white wines, but is delicious with bright, tart, zesty and fruity rosés, such as the 2021 Cele Rose Columbia Valley Washington, light and fruity with notes of melon, peach, mango, and dried herbs. It too has the softness and give of the pasta’s texture.”

4. Carignan with Macaroni Salad

Less popular than similarly flavored medium-bodied reds, carignan has had a glow-up recently and shed its image as a low-quality grape. The 2021 Watchkeeper Carignan Lodi California is a “Rhone-style blend of 77% Carignan, 13% Petite Syrah and 10% Petite Verdot with a ripe and velvety mouthfeel and has notes of black cherry, plum, cocoa and tobacco”, according to Fallis. She suggested the carignan pairs with a classic mayo-based salad as the soft textures play off of each other, and the ripe fruit shines without spice or other heavy flavors in the dish.”