Light and White

• Whether your broccoli and pasta salad contains grapes, raisins, walnuts or red bell peppers, it is a light and refreshing meal that needs a light and refreshing wine to match. Choose a light white wine such as pinot grigio or a French chablis. If you've added lemon zest to the salad or used a vinaigrette instead of mayonnaise, choose a white wine with slightly more body, such as sauvignon blanc.

Wines With Heft

• For broccoli and pasta dishes with rich, creamy sauces or strongly flavored ingredients, such as garlic or bacon, you need wines, either red or white, that have more body than light, white wines and that have enough acidity to balance the richness of the sauce and the ingredients. Good choices include a white wine, such as a riesling or chardonnay, or light red wines, such as a dry rose or zinfandel.

When the Going Gets Hot

• Red pepper flakes, spicy sausages or tomatoes add lots of flavor to a broccoli and pasta dish and work well with flavorful wines. For these dishes, a dry riesling, even though it is white, tones down spiciness because it has a low alcohol content. A medium-bodied red wine also works because it can stand up to the strong flavors in the broccoli and pasta dish -- try zinfandel or if you like red wines with stronger flavors, malbec or Shiraz.

Wines for Earthy Flavors

• Broccoli gains a earthy quality and intense flavor when you roast it before adding it to pasta. The same intensity and pungent flavors come from a broccoli pesto added to minestrone soup filled with beans, pasta and vegetables. In either case, an earthy or strongly-flavored wine should accompany the dishes. Good choices include a chardonnay, a full-bodied white wine with oak overtones, or a pinto noir, a medium-bodied red wine.