Top pairings
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
The best wine pairings for lasagna
A traditional lasagna or lasagne, however you like to spell it, is the ultimate comfort food, a multi-layered pasta dish that traditionally combines silky pasta, savoury meats, creamy sauces, and bubbling cheese into one irresistible dish.
It’s generally a dish with which I like a glass of red wine but with so many variations on the basic recipe these days, there’s no single one-size-fits-all pairing.
In this brief guide, I’ll explore the best wines to pair with different styles of lasagna, some of which may surprise you!
Top wine pairings for lasagna
Classic meat lasagna
Basically you can go for the same type of wines as you would for a spaghetti bolognese though as the cheese sauce tends to make the dish a bit richer you might want to go for slightly more full-bodied reds. Maybe a modern style Tuscan red rather than a classic Chianti or a southern Italian or Sicilian red like Nero d’Avola or Primitivo. Barbera is a good pairing too as are Italian grape varieties such as sangiovese from elsewhere.
Outside Italy, I found this saperavi to be a great match with lasagna. A rioja crianza, a medium-bodied cabernet sauvignon or a zinfandel would be a great pairing too as with this ox cheek lasagna.
Vegetable lasagna
It makes sense to choose a wine pairing for vegetable lasagna that suits the vegetables that are in it. If it includes roasted Mediterranean vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers and courgettes a gutsy Languedoc or Roussillon red would be a good match.
If it includes spinach or chard, a dry Italian white like a Gavi might be a better pairing while a pumpkin or butternut squash lasagna would suit a richer white such as a viognier or oak-aged chardonnay.
Mushroom lasagna works well with either white or red wines such as pinot noir. With a lasagne vincigrassi, a particularly opulent recipe made with porcini and cream (yes, it is as delicious as it sounds!) I’d drink a creamy white burgundy or other chardonnay (see for example my Match of the Week: Vincigrassi and Saint-Aubin).
Seafood lasagna
Choosing a wine for a seafood lasagna is similar to picking a wine for fish pie as you can see from this recipe for a smoked salmon and spinach lasagna. Try a smooth creamy chardonnay, chenin blanc or a fuller Italian white such as a Soave.
Wines to match different pasta sauces
What wine should you pair with your favourite pasta?
As you might guess it depends on the sauce rather than the pasta shape. From rich and meaty ragùs to zesty herby pesto, each sauce has its own unique character that suggests a different wine pairing. That said I like to pair Italian wine with pasta wherever possible as it suits it so well and isn’t too full-bodied or alcoholic.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through the best wine pairings for six popular styles of pasta sauce, from the classic tomato-based marinara to creamy Alfredo and beyond. Each sauce calls for a different approach: think crisp whites to cut through the richness of a carbonara, or a bold red to stand up to a hearty Bolognese.
What Wine to Match with Different Pasta Sauces
Creamy pasta sauces
To offset creamy sauces (eg carbonara or fettucine alfredo) think Soave, Bianco di Custoza, Pinot Bianco, Sicilian whites and lighter Chardonnay or Chardonnay blends.
Spaghetti Carbonara. Image source: Engin Akyurt
See also six of the best wine matches for spaghetti carbonara
With baby vegetables (primavera) or herbs (verdura): try a crisper Italian whites such as Falanghina, Vermentino or Arneis. Or a Loire Sauvignon Blanc.With mushroom pastas serve Soave, Bianco di Custoza, Lugana or Chardonnay, or a light Merlot or Pinot Noir.
Seafood pasta sauces
Seafood (spaghetti alle vongole, spaghetti with mussels, linguine with crab) need crisp dry whites such as Frascati, Verdicchio, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, Muscadet or Picpoul de Pinet. Crab or lobster sauces can take a fuller white such as a good quality Soave or Chardonnay.
The best wine pairings for spaghetti alle vongole
Photo by tofuprod licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Red or tomato-based pasta sauces
Tomato-based sauces include fresh tomato with basil: crisp dry whites such as Pinot Grigio or Verdicchio.
Cooked tomato sauces such as napoletana or marinara): Montepulciano d’Abruzzo or a light Sicilian red.
Meat-based sauces e.g. bolognese, spaghetti with meatballs, sausage-based sauces are a logical partner for Sicilian and Puglian reds (especially Primitivo), Sangiovese, Rosso di Montalcino and inexpensive Barberas. Zinfandel is good too.
Six of the best matches for spaghetti bolognese
Pesto and other cheese-based sauces
Dry whites such as Gavi, Soave or Verdicchio are best with green pesto - you could also try Sicilian whites and lighter Chardonnays).
With red pesto I’d go for a medium bodied red such as Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Sangiovese or Merlot. It’s a colour thing as much as anything
With cheese-based sauces such as four cheese and Gorgonzola): try crisp dry whites such as Verdicchio, light Chardonnays or light reds such as Teroldego or Merlot.
Spicy pasta sauces
With hot spicy sauces such as arrabbiatta, aglio olio e peperoncino (garlic, oil and chilli) and puttanesca (anchovies, capers and olives) try either a sharply flavoured dry white wine or a rustic Italian red: a Primitivo or Sicilian red or a Zinfandel
The best wine pairings for spaghetti puttanesca
Photo by being0828 licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
Pasta sauces with pulses
Tuscan reds such as Chianti work well with pasta with beans or lentils (Pasta e Fagioli) or try an earthy, neutral white such as Orvieto or Vernaccia di San Gimignano)Top image by Brent Hofacker at shutterstock.com
The best wine pairings for spaghetti alle vongole
The ideal pairing does of course depend on how you make your spaghetti alle vongole - the classic Italian dish of spaghetti with white wine and clams - but in my book, the answer is simple: a young, unoaked, Italian white wine.
Goodness, there are enough to chose from! A simple Soave, Bianco di Custoza, Frascati, Falanghina, Vermentino, Vernaccia or Verdichio dei Castelli de Jesi, basic Sicilian whites - even a Pinot Grigio though be prepared to pay more than the lowest cut price offer for it.
Italian grape varieties grown elsewhere such as Vermentino and Pinot Grigio would do the trick but make sure it’s the classic Italian style rather than the off-dry Pinot Gris one.
You could of course drink any crisp dry white from elsewhere. Muscadet would be fine as would Chablis, Picpoul de Pinet or Albarino. Sauvignon Blanc I personally think is too powerfully aromatic for this simple dish.
A genuinely dry rosé - such as a Côtes de Provence or a Bardolino would also be a good pairing.
Including more tomato in the dish might mean you want a wine of greater intensity - say a late harvest Vermentino (intense but not sweet) or a Greco di Tufo from Campania, but I personally don’t think you can better this version from the Guardian’s excellent Felicity Cloake who assiduously road tests a range of recipes in her weekly How to Cook The Perfect . . . column.
Image ©nbixer at fotolia.com
Six of the best matches for Bacchus and Bacchus-based wine blends
If you've bough a bottle of English wine to celebrate St George's Day or English Wine Week you may be wondering what sort of food suits it best.
Chances are it may be Bacchus, a cross between Müller Thurgau and Silvaner-Riesling that tastes quite similar to a sauvignon blanc. It works well with the sort of food that pairs with sauvignon but is usually a degree or so lighter in alcohol so may not be able to cope with such intense flavours. English whites also have a delicate elderflower character which makes me think of classic summery English food.
Here are six pairings I think work really well.
*fresh goats cheese and goats cheese salads. Just as sauvignon loves goats cheese so do English whites
*spring vegetables such as asparagus, peas and broad beans - such as this dish of asparagus with gnocchi and a wild garlic pesto.
*fresh seafood particularly crab salads or sandwiches and prawns
*other light salads without powerfully flavoured dressings - a seafood or chicken salad for example or even a fresh tomato salad
*poached or grilled salmon without a rich sauce. (Mayonnaise is fine. So is cucumber which is lovely with this style of wine)
*light fish dishes like the celery risotto with Westcombe cheddar and smoked haddock I had at Pump House in Bristol a while back. Simply pan-fried or grilled fish is perfect too.
Photo ©Linda at fotolia.com
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