Italian food is almost a second language in Australian homes: pizza, linguine, fettuccini, vongole. These and more all just about roll off the tongue. All that’s missing is righteous drinks that feel good to enjoy alongside, so I asked a couple of chef mates (who I’m guilty of begging for their best buffalo mozzarella to go with olive oil and basil during tomato season) to give me the lowdown on what they like to accompany some of the Italian classics.

Pizza and pet nat:

Monty Koludrovic of Sydney landmarks Icebergs Dining Room and Bar, and newly-styled The Dolphin Hotel in Surry Hills, says of pizza, “I recently had the Cantina Giardino Frizzante, which is produced with greco grapes from Campania. It’s an umami bomb from tomato land, made in the home of pizza. It makes our Roman-style ‘no cheese marinara’ pizza with anchovies, capers and beautiful tomato sugo dance.”

Carbonara and orange wines:

Mitch Orr’s staunchly traditional (read: cream-free) carbonara sits opposite thrillingly inventive pasta dishes at ACME in Sydney. In another twist he reaches for Italian orange wines as his carbonara match. Made when white grape skins are left in contact with the juice, orange wine has unusual hues and spicy aromas. “It’s in your face, you don’t need a degree to pick delicate scents out of it, and the texture is amazing,” explains Orr. “It matches our ideals: minimal intervention; old world techniques.”

Osso buco and lambrusco:

Melbourne chef-proprietor of Pope Joan, Matt Wilkinson is on point with his love of the resurgent lambrusco with osso buco. “I drank a lot of lambrusco when I was in Italy and it’s delicious with this dish,” he says. The sparkling red style might have connotations of awful cheap drinking, but a renaissance has seen many well-made examples available. Here, the savoury, dark fruit with light fizziness fits well with the heartiness of osso buco.