White or red wine? What’s the best pairing for risotto?

Talking about wine matches for risotto is a bit like talking about wine with pasta - it’s depends on the other ingredients you use, not the rice.

That said, risotto is usually a delicate, creamy sort of dish which is served among the primi (the first main dish) on an Italian menu and generally suits a white better than a red.

It’s also typical of the northern half of Italy rather than the south, particularly the Piedmont area which points to an Italian white from that region.

In this post you’ll find my top wine pairings for popular types of risotto, including spring vegetable risottos (e.g. asparagus risotto), seafood risotto (e.g. Risotto ai Frutti di Mare), mushroom risotto, beetroot risotto and pumpkin risotto. Read on to learn which types of risotto best suit a white wine and which are better with red.

Spring vegetable risotto

With a light risotto made with spring vegetables like asparagus or courgette (zucchini) flowers or with seafood like shrimp or prawns I’d drink a Gavi, Soave or a Roero Arneis or - and this might surprise you - a glass of dryish* prosecco.

Seafood risotto

If the risotto was a bit richer - made with crab or scallops for example - I’d go for a richer white wine but still one with some acidity - a light creamy chardonnay for example or a pinot bianco. Premier cru Chablis, although not local, would be a good match and I have enjoyed a crisp fresh-tasting sauvignon with this style of risotto

Mushroom risotto

Chardonnay, especially white burgundy, is also a good pairing for a chicken or a mushroom risotto which tend to be richer and more savoury but you could also drink a pinot noir or a Barolo, even though this is not traditional in the region. (They generally save it for the meat course and drink a Barbera.). If truffles are involved, I would go for the Barolo though!

Beetroot risotto

I’d also drink a red wine with any risotto that was made with red wine, served with meat or one that was based on beetroot. Barbera would probably be my top choice but again pinot noir would work very well especially if that’s the wine you use in the recipe.

Beetroot and pinot noir risotto

I also prefer an earthy red like Barbera with a risotto made with saffron like the classic risotto all Milanese but again you could go for a crisp white like a Gavi.

Pumpkin risotto

And for rich pumpkin or butternut squash I might go for a richer style of chardonnay or viognier.

Wines that don’t go quite as well

Enjoying a risotto is all about the creaminess of the dish and the texture of the rice so you don’t want a wine that’s too intrusive either in terms of fruit character or tannin. So I personally wouldn’t go for a pungent New Zealand style of sauvignon blanc or a full-bodied red like a cabernet sauvignon or shiraz. Feel free though if it works for you!

* I deliberately use the word ‘dry-ish’ rather than ‘dry’ because that’s a classification in the prosecco region that actually means medium-sweet’. You want to look for ‘brut’ style proseccos.

Image © Ale02 at shutterstock.com

Which wines and beers pair best with mushrooms?

If you think of the ingredients that show off a great wine mushrooms would have to be near the top of the list.

Possessed of the sexy ingredient umami - the intensely savoury taste identified by the Japanese, they flatter and act as the perfect foil for wines as disparate as vintage Champagne, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Beers too can work well, particularly dark lagers and brown ales, less fashionable styles but ones which have a real affinity with earthy mushroom flavours.

Like any other ingredient it depends how you prepare and cook mushrooms, of course and what other ingredients there are in the dish. Delicate wild mushrooms in a creamy sauce are a different proposition from big flat Portabello mushrooms baked with garlic and parsley.

Here are some suggestions:

• Mushrooms in a creamy sauce - possibly the ultimate preparation so far as wine is concerned whether it’s the base of a tart, a pasta sauce or simply on toast. You can mirror the creamy texture with a like-meets-like pairing of a fine white burgundy or other oak-aged Chardonnay, lift the dish while echoing its umami flavours with vintage Champagne or pick up on the mushrooms’ earthiness with a red burgundy or other Pinot Noir. For a not-so-special occasion a simple unoaked Chardonnay will do the trick.

• Mushroom risotto - Smooth dry Italian whites such as Soave and Gavi work well. If the mushroom content is predominantly porcini try an aged Italian red such as Barolo or vintage rosé Champagne.

• Duxelles - an unfashionable but wonderful way of cooking mushrooms (chopping them very finely then sauteing them in butter with onion until the mixture is completely dry). A perfect match for a great Pinot Noir.

• Mushrooms in tomato sauce - a combination most likely to be found in Italian dishes especially pasta sauces. Sangiovese and Sangiovese blends (e.g. Chianti Classico) tend to be the best match but a Belgian dubbel beer or Viennese-style lager can work well.

• Baked or stuffed Portabello mushrooms - have the meaty quality of a steak so can be paired with almost any robust red such as Zinfandel, Syrah/Shiraz or, if the dish contains cheese, Cabernet Sauvignon.

• Steak and mushroom (or simply mushroom) pie - Depends on the base of the sauce. If it’s wine-based, a full-bodied red, as above (a good Côtes du Rhône Villages or Languedoc red like a Faugères would also work). If the sauce is more like a gravy or has a dark mushroom flavour try a full-flavoured ale such as a dark Belgian Trappist beer, a northern French bière de garde, a brown ale or a strong English ale.

• Mushroom soup - Depends how creamy it is. If it’s quite light I’d go for a Chardonnay (see mushrooms in creamy sauce above) If it’s more intensely mushroomy or includes mustard (there’s a good recipe in my book An Appetite for Ale!) I’d choose a dark beer like Westmalle Dubbel or even a stout or porter.

• Mushroom quiche - Again how mushroomy is the dish? If the predominant flavour is cream, eggs and cheese I’d probably pick a white burgundy or Pinot Blanc. If the mushroom flavour is more powerful I’d revert to Pinot Noir.

• Mushrooms à la grècque or preserved in oil - a classic Italian-style antipasto that will work with almost any crisp, dry Italian or Italian-style white or a dry rosé. You could drink a pilsner or Kolsch with it successfully too.

• Oyster/shitake mushrooms with soy - Unlikely to be served on its own unless it’s part of a vegetable stir-fry so you’re probably going to be looking for a wine that will perform well with a selection of Chinese or Chinese-style dishes. Ripe fruity reds such as new world Pinot Noir, Merlot or even young Rioja can work surprisingly well. For a lighter dish or selection of dishes try a dry (and I mean dry) Riesling from Alsace or Austria.

The best wine pairings for partridge

I sometimes think partridge is my favourite game bird - less full-on and ‘gamey’ than pheasant, more subtle and delicate than chicken. But what wine should you drink with it?

The options are in fact similar to my recommended wine pairings for pheasant but because it’s a more delicate meat think lighter, finer-textured wines - a gran reserva rather than a reserva rioja, for instance. As you’ll see from the suggestions below 2009 and 2010 were good across the board

Whether you go for pretty youthful fruit or a more complex aged wine depends how you cook it (for me simply roasted is best) your personal taste and your bank balance but these would be my preferred options:

If you have a treasured red burgundy partridge is a good excuse for cracking it open. (2009 or ’10 should be drinking deliciously now). Or a top pinot noir (German spåtburgunder, for example). A ‘natural’ low sulphur pinot - or gamay - would be especially interesting.

* A mature red bordeaux which could be even a touch older, say a 2005.

* A top barolo (again the 09s and 10s were good from this region but beware, there’s a lot of dull barolo around)

* A gran reserva rioja - 2004, 2005 and 2010 were all good vintages. 2001 even better but it needs to have been stored well.

* A Jura chardonnay (which is less fruity, more savoury than most chardonnays) would be especially good with perdrix au chou (partridge with cabbage)

* Dry oloroso sherry - a spectacular pairing I once had in Jerez (see here) - maybe not for your pals but great as part of a sherry dinner -

* A Flemish red ale like Rodenbach, Duchesse de Bourgogne or the Wild Beer Company’s Modus Operandi would be the perfect beer match

You may also find these posts useful

Top wine and beer matches for game

Must grouse wine matches be classic?

The best wine pairings for pheasant

The photo is of partridge with cabbage as cooked by Stephen Markwick of the sadly now closed Culinaria in Bristol. © Fiona Beckett

The best food pairings for Mencia

When I scoured the website for existing pairings with mencia I was amazed how many dishes I’d suggested it with. It really is an incredibly versatile food wine.

For those of you who are not familiar with it it’s a grape variety which is grown in the Bierzo and Ribeira Sacra regions of north-west Spain and produces a vibrantly juicy red that reminds me of Beaujolais with a dash of Loire cabernet franc.

Top food matches for mencia

Cecina

Cecina is a really delicious deeply savoury cured smoked beef from the same region as mencia and goes brilliantly with it as you can see from this match of the week. So does chorizo and rough country hams

Almost any kind of grilled meat especially pork and lamb

Which makes it a good wine for a barbecue. That also applies to spiced meat like kebabs or these seftali

Hearty stews

The Spanish are not renowned for their vegetarian dishes so I’m thinking meat here. Robust dishes of pork and beans for example.

Empanadas

Again from the area they have these delicious tuna and red pepper pies called empanadas. Mencia would be good with the smaller Latin American version too

Sheep cheese

Mencia is a good all-rounder with cheese but especially hard sheep cheeses which are what you tend to find in the area.

Warm salads

I suggested mencia as a pairing with this warm lamb salad with a pea, mint and feta cheese dressing. It would be great with other warm salads too.

Pizza and pasta

Almost any kind of pasta with a meaty sauce. Spaghetti and meatballs for example. It’s the perfect pizza wine too.

Roast turkey

I know there are a lot of other great pairings for roast turkey but a vibrant mencia works surprisingly well with all the sides as I discovered one Christmas.