Wine Pairing Made Easy with Sienna on the Square
Saturday, December 14, 2019
Have you ever found yourself out a dinner, staring at the wine selection, not knowing what drink to pair with your meal? We recently chatted with Scott DiBenedetto, general manager at Downtown’s Sienna on the Square, to get a few tips on how to elevate your next meal with the perfect wine pairing.
If you’re in the mood for a little seafood, like Sienna on
the Square’s crispy calamari with pickled sweet peppers and lemon aioli, white
wine is often a good place to start! The Stemmari Dalila Grillo, a varietal
native to Sicily, is the most famous white varietal on the island and was
historically used for the production of Marsala – and pairs perfectly with
calamari and other light seafood dishes.
If you want to enjoy a more traditional Italian dish, a ripe, complex red wine such as the Vestigo Montepulciano di Abruzzo has a rich, aromatic taste and pairs perfectly with a hearty pasta like the Square’s hand-made gnocchi, roasted zucchini and mushrooms, prosciutto, and pepper jack mousse.
Another of their popular dishes, the roasted chicken, always
tastes better when partnered with a glass of Merlot. Featuring roasted chicken
with butternut squash puree, crispy fingerling potatoes, roasted shallots, and
brown butter and mustard vinaigrette spinach, it is a perfect complement to the
elegant, fruit forward blend of dark berries, vanilla, and delicate hints of spice
in a glass (or bottle) of Amastuola Organic Merlot.
Lastly, for guests venturing into Market Square for a weekend brunch, Scott says that he always recommends Sienna’s chanterelle mushroom and zuchinni quiche with goat cheese and basil pesto aioli. For those looking to pair a wine with their meal, he says that Cline Chardonnay from the Sonoma Coast is an excellent choice!
Filled with tropical and stone fruit flavors balanced out with oak and vanilla, this chardonnay is packed with flavor but won’t be sending you back home for a nap – meaning you can spend the rest of your day enjoying all of the amazing shops in Market Square and the rest of Downtown Pittsburgh!
Sienna on the Square is open daily in Market Square. Learn more.
Hungry for more? Learn about how Sienna on the Square makes their signature gnocchi with their Chef de Cuisine here.
