Pasta menu — it’s hopeless for wine

Latest answer — August 09, 2026

4 Down

A famous sparkling wine is identified through a deliberately jumbled menu phrase 🍾

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Times Cryptic Crossword

This clue's Sunday, August 09, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Fellow American in the summer gala
  2. 5Energy in powerful creature’s legs
  3. 9Really old river banks no doubt
  4. 10Awfully old tomb of awfully old people
  5. 12Farm managed by Cornish extremists
  6. 13Butcher, the source of some amusement
  7. 14Tennis shot pulverized by sudden attack
  8. 18Folk concerts jeered, mostly by nurses
  9. 21Nuns say church table is wonky
  10. 23Courage shown by the artillery
  11. 24Agree to a drink around wild animals
  12. 25Treat us badly crossing a swamp
  13. 26Edge of hoop coated with iron
  14. 27Northern meat retains its advantages

Down

  1. 1Notes losing volume without loud musicians
  2. 2Hurt protecting first in royal succession
  3. 3Locomotive, once smooth, sounded rough
  4. 4Pasta menu — it’s hopeless for wine
  5. 6Crowd removing last of their underwear
  6. 7Good hypothesis abandoned by fool’s initiative
  7. 8Paper towels and other stuff
  8. 11Winning phase in pontoon
  9. 15Den put up here to use playfully
  10. 16Writer said to tick all the boxes
  11. 17Broil hake, chopped nuts and brassica
  12. 19Battle to take away the last sausage
  13. 20Capital letters in order to end stanzas
  14. 22Taking a risk leaving school to make jewellery

The answer to “Pasta menu — it’s hopeless for wine” in the The Times Cryptic crossword is ASTISPUMANTE — a 12-letter word. It most recently appeared in the The Times Cryptic crossword on August 9, 2026, a Sunday puzzle, at 4-Down. Below you'll find why that fill fits, every other answer we've recorded for this clue, and links into the puzzle it came from.

“Pasta menu — it’s hopeless for wine” answer

ASTISPUMANTE (12 letters)

Reveal the solution one letter at a time with the tiles above if you'd rather nudge yourself toward it than see the whole word at once. Just want it outright? The answer is ASTISPUMANTE.

Why the answer is ASTISPUMANTE

A famous sparkling wine is identified through a deliberately jumbled menu phrase 🍾

When else has “Pasta menu — it’s hopeless for wine” appeared?

The Times Cryptic reuses clues across dates, sometimes with a different answer depending on the grid. Here's where this exact clue has shown up, and what the answer was each time — handy when you're checking whether today's fill is the only one.

August 9, 2026 (most recent) → ASTISPUMANTE. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Pasta menu — it’s hopeless for wine”?

The answer is ASTISPUMANTE, a 12-letter word. It most recently appeared in the The Times Cryptic crossword on August 9, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Pasta menu — it’s hopeless for wine”?

12 letters: ASTISPUMANTE.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the The Times Cryptic crossword on August 9, 2026 (a Sunday puzzle), at 4-Down.

Can “Pasta menu — it’s hopeless for wine” have a different answer?

Yes — The Times Cryptic sometimes reuses a clue with a different solution to fit the grid. The answers we've recorded for each date it appeared are listed above when available.

Where can I find the rest of this day's Times Cryptic answers?

The full grid for August 9, 2026 is on the Times Cryptic answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

The Times Cryptic Crossword is published by The Times; WordHint is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher.

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