Risotto, a nurturing Italian dish, treats us to a whole host of possible flavours. When choosing a wine to pair with it, focus on extenuating the main ingredient or flavour of the dish.
Seafood risotto
With a scallop or prawn risotto, a lively and mineral white wine would be the natural option. Think those from the Loire Valley (Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé), Burgundy, or Bordeaux (Graves, Côtes de Blaye or Entre-deux-Mers). With a spice-heavy risotto (with curry spices, for example), opt for a lively, refreshing wine that can cope with the heightened flavours of the dish such as a Riesling or a Sylvaner, a Sauvignon Blanc from Touraine, a Savennières, or a delicately fruity rosé. For a latter, you have all the choice of Provence’s delightful wines. There is also a wild card, for when you want to be really out there – a refreshing Muscadet! It works every time 🙂
Pork risotto
Lardons, smoky bacon, ham, pancetta or speck all mix salty, smoked flavours. This combination works really well with elegant, fruity, lively red wines that are still quite young. The Loire Valley would work as would a young, juicy Syrah from the Rhône’s Crozes-Hermitage or Saint-Joseph. Equally, opt for a Beaujolais cru.
Vegetable risotto
This is such a wide category as risotto is so versatile but there are still many wine options.
If you’re cooking with green vegetables, chose a white wine that has a bit of a body and isn’t too acidic (especially with strong flavours like those from onions, lemon or mint) and is rich and supple. To find this type of wine, you’ll want to look to France’s southern regions (Languedoc and Provence or Saint-Péray and Montravel for the adventurous) or the Loire Valley for its freshness.
With a mushroom risotto, play with the melt-the-mouth quality of the mushrooms and opt for a sunny wine, like a Chardonnay from Mâconnais, a white from Limoux or a Coteaux du Languedoc.
A truffle risotto gives the option of a white wine or a red wine pairing. It would go perfectly with a round, ample white one, even better if it’s got gentle woody notes, like those made from Roussanne/Marsanne in Pic Saint-Loup or Bandol for an original choice. But it would equally marry well with an aged red that has undergrowth and mushroom flavours like a Syrah from the northern Rhône or a Volnay.
Cheese risotto
Pecorino, goat’s cheese, or even Gorgonzola has an effect on the risotto’s texture, making seem to melt over your palate more as well as adding more powerful flavours. For a classic pairing, go for a white wine as it highlights to power of the cheese and its salinity.
For blue cheeses, a sweet wine with wonderful acidity like a Coteaux du Layon, which will not weigh down the palate, a sweet Alsace Gewürtraminer, a Jurançon or a Pacherenc-du-Vic-Bilh are all brilliant options. Another option would be a Vin Jaune from Jura,
