Four wine styles to consider for a risotto recipe:
- Aromatic whites, such as Sauvignon Blanc or Bacchus
- High acid Italian white wines, such as Pinot Grigio or Pecorino
- Unoaked Chardonnay
- Light red wines, such as Gamay or Pinot Noir
The first rule when making risotto is to avoid using cheap cooking wines, says food writer Pete Dryer. He’s talking about those sub-£7 supermarket wines with not much detail about providence or grape variety.
‘At best they won’t add anything to your finished dish, and at worst they’ll actively make it unpleasant,’ he says.
At the same time, when cooking with wine, don’t dig out one of your best bottles from the cellar either. ‘It won’t be bad but really good wines are wasted on cooking in general,’ adds Dryer.
All rules are meant to be broken occasionally though, just ask Fiona Beckett who recommends Champagne for a risotto recipe in her book The Wine Lover’s Kitchen. She uses a blanc de noirs in her recipe for Champagne and mushroom risotto, arguing that this style of wine adds just the right amount of toasty richness.
‘It might seem wantonly extravagant,’ writes Beckett, ‘but you need only a glass and the bonus is that you can drink the rest with the risotto.’ Fair point.
In general, Dryer advises trying a crisp, dry, unoaked white wine. ‘Pinot Grigio is really versatile – also Sauvignon Blanc; those are the two I would reach for first, and unoaked Chardonnay is fine,’ he says.
‘If you have a dry Vermouth knocking about in a cupboard somewhere, that will also work surprisingly well – you want something that will give you a nice balance of sweetness and acidity.’
He advises against using oaked Chardonnays, wines with lots of body or anything sweeter than off-dry as they may overpower the risotto.’ Balance in key in this dish,’ says Dryer.
‘Sweeter wines can give you a sickly sweet flavour that clings to your palate too.’
What about using red wine in risotto?
Don’t assume that red wine is out of the question; again in her book, Beckett has a recipe for a Pinot Noir and beetroot risotto.
‘You might not think of pouring red wine into a risotto but with beetroot it works beautifully.’
Dryer agrees. ‘It seems a bit weird, but it can work with flavours that traditionally accompany red wine – for example, mushroom risotto can work with red or white wine.’
If you do try a red wine in your risotto, stick to light and dryer styles over fruity and sweet wines. Think Gamay, Pinot Noir and Valpolicella.
