Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat.

Once shimmering, add onion and cook until softened (about 3 minutes).

Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds).

Add ground beef and sprinkle the salt, black pepper, and crushed pepper overtop. Cook, crumbling, until meat is browned. Drain excess grease if/as needed.

Add tomato paste and sugar to the pan and cook, stirring near-constantly until tomato paste is browned/caramelized (about 1-2 minutes).

Drizzle red wine into the pan, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any browned bits. Cook until the wine is reduced by about half and you can no longer smell the alcohol so strongly (about 3-5 minutes).

Add water and tomatoes, breaking/crushing the tomatoes with a wooden spoon or metal spatula as you cook.

Add basil, parsley, and oregano and bay leaf and stir until combined and bay leaf is submerged. Simmer at least 30 minutes with an offset lid, stirring occasionally.

If serving with pasta, begin cooking pasta according to package instructions while the sauce is simmering. You can serve the meat sauce over the portioned pasta or combine the two together before serving. If mixing together, reserve ¼ cup pasta water then drain remaining water from the pasta. Add pasta to meat sauce along with a splash of pasta reserved pasta water, stir well, and simmer until sauce clings to noodles (just several minutes).

Serve, topped with parmesan cheese if desired.