Oh, like in this classic recipe?
Yep. That type of wine, too. Something rustic, but drinkable. Just enough alcohol to bring out additional flavors before it evaporates.
Worth trying: a touch of wine, a teaspoon of sugar, a splash of chicken stock, a bit of cream or cheese, a dollop of anchovy paste. One or more of these might help.
Yeah, the leftover rind of Parmesan cheese, for example, is a classic addition to very long-simmered sauces.
It also occurs to me that you could try some fish sauce. It does have a good amount of sodium, so be careful, but it’ll add a big ol’ umami kick to your sauce and isn’t fishy at all so long as you let it simmer for a while.
Worscheeissistterishire sauce has a similar use case.
I’ve certainly done that in lieu of anchovies. It’s the same exact idea (fish sauce being, well, usually fermented anchovies.)
When making spaghetti aglio e olio, it’s customary to add about half a cup of parmesan to the oil and garlic mixture (I also substitute a generous amount of garlic butter for some of the olive oil) to make it more creamy. I don’t know how well that would work in tomato-based pasta sauce but it’s another thought. Or if you add enough cream, you’re basically making a rosé sauce, or you could try vodka for a traditional vodka sauce.
OK, now I’m tempted once again to try one of those simple recipes cited above. It’s not as if it’s going to be a costly endeavour if it fails. But I have in fact found a great traditional marinara sauce available at a nearby grocery that is excellent so I’m not especially motivated to try making my own. It’s not particularly cheap, but cheaper than Rao’s, and IMHO much better.
Worcestershire can pack a punch of umami when used correctly. But generally one should use it very sparingly, as it tends to “darken” – for lack of a better term – whatever it’s added to. I don’t mean in a visual sense, but in a flavour sense of creating a deeper, sharper flavour, and offsetting any “bright” fruitiness. It’s used in Caesars (clamato juice and vodka) for just that reason.
Whatsthisheresauce and fish sauce aren’t in my usual repertoire of kitchen staples, and wine and vodka definitely aren’t (I don’t drink), but a bit of cheese or stock might work, or of course some sort of meat.
Very true. I like that in a tomato sauce. I’ll often deglaze the aliums and mushrooms with a brown ale and then add something like wurgleburgleshire towards the end. Gives a “meaty” flavor to the sauce, but it’s definitely less bright than your basic simple red.
Is it right to use the word “traditional” for a recipe that isn’t even 50 years old?
Anything you do twice is eligible for tradition status.
If you can find a source of good quality, low-fat meatballs in tomato sauce – the ones I get from Pusateri’s are usually a seasoned mixture of beef, veal, and chicken – simmering the meatballs for a while adds body to the sauce, plus of course protein to the dinner. But be careful because I’ve had commercial meatballs that were fatty and disgusting or just tasted odd. Quality is really important here.
Tru dat.
I have yet to find a widely available, commercial meatball that was worth a sou. The only ones I will bother with are the ones in the butcher case at the grocery down the street. I know what is in those, and how fresh they are. Even after I freeze them they still hold their flavor and texture well.
I threw in the word “traditional” just to highlight the fact that throwing vodka into pasta sauce was not just some drunken stunt that I invented one night – it’s a legitimate recipe! 
I’ve typically only had it as the sauce accompanying certain types of ravioli, not as a spaghetti sauce.
My gf buys little containers of Nature Sweet Twilight Cherry Tomatoes for use in salads. They are delicious. Yesterday I found some that had been forgotten about.
I roasted them (all ten ounces) then used them to make spaghetti sauce in a little enameled cast iron saucepan we have. Literally a single serving.
I made pasta (the little ears), put it in little ramekins, and sauced it, serving it as an appetizer. It was so delicious that my gf was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t more.
A good meatloaf recipe makes memorable meatballs. Sadly, in Canada you can’t generally buy a “meatloaf mix” including veal. Sometimes you can buy pork and beef together, usually separate packs of everything. But Bolognaise (see my first post) is far better than meatballs IMHO.
Lemon juice has not been mentioned much but I’d often a welcome addition to sauce. But it really comes down mainly to tomato quality.
Not a fan of “First Annual” labeling? 
Our household goes into a panic if we run out of Worchestershire Sauce. Heck, I add it to melted butter to put on popcorn. It’s an absolutely staple for scrambled eggs and for hamburgers. I have never, however, added it to a tomato sauce. I may have to try that when it’s “missing” something.
I wouldn’t use Worcestershire in a tomato pasta sauce. The seasoning profile is, IMO, all wrong.
Given the short time between @Chrono’s planning & results posts, I got the impression the sauce didn’t cook for long enough for wine. I do like wine in a long simmered sauce, usually chianti.
Long simmer - add wine to sauce
Short simmer - add wine to cook