Your wine and risotto pairings
Risotto wine: several possible pairings
Autumn is often synonymous with gloom and sadness, but also with rain and mushrooms. It is among the latter that we find an excellent remedy against this sadness and gloom of autumn. These are of course porcini mushrooms, which best express their virtues with risotto. Few dishes are as comforting as a voluptuous plate of risotto with porcini mushrooms and parmesan cheese. This meal provides a great feeling of well-being, thanks to the silky texture and undergrowth flavors of the porcini mushrooms.
Nothing better than a good bottle of wine to make the most of this depth of flavor with relaxing properties! As with all wine pairings, the choice of wine is based on the ingredients of the dish. But there is nothing to worry about, the risotto made with porcini mushrooms offers several possibilities when it comes to the choice of wine.
Risotto: a dish we love
Italian cuisine has spread all over the world like wildfire. It is its simplicity and the diversity of its preparations that have earned it this wide adoption in several countries.
Risotto is one of those Italian dishes that win the hearts of French households. It is a simple dish based on varieties of Italian rice, which must be chosen carefully. For the record, the first rice plantations in Italy were located in the Po Valley in the 15th century, when the suitability of these lands for rice cultivation was discovered. From the 19th century, commercial rice cultivation developed in northern Italy. Since then, Italian rice has been very popular and has conquered the world.
Risotto requires good precision in cooking, original ingredients and above all accompaniments that will imbue it with irresistible aromas. Ceps are in great demand when it comes to accompanying risotto.
Risotto with porcini mushrooms
Unlike other mushrooms, porcini mushrooms are easily spotted in the undergrowth. All it takes is a few rays of sunshine after the rain to see their famous hats appear. All that remains is to pick them and find Italian rice.
Risotto with porcini mushrooms is easy to make, requiring no flamboyant cooking skills! The only thing it requires is vigilance. Concretely, for a meal for four people you need: "Italian round rice (200 g), small porcini mushrooms (250 g), fresh cream (15 cl), a large onion, chicken stock (40 cl), a tablespoon of chopped parsley, white wine (10 cl), parmesan (50 g), butter (60 g), salt and pepper”.
Wash the porcini mushrooms, cut the stalks and heads into small cubes about 10 mm apart. Finely chop the onion after peeling it. In a casserole, heat 30 g of butter. Add the chopped onion to it and stir for three minutes. Add the rice while stirring, then add the wine. Let cook for five minutes.
Pour 10 cl of chicken broth and wait four to five minutes over low heat. Once the first broth has been absorbed, pour in half of the rest and then the other half, waiting each time for it to be absorbed first (4-5 minutes). Add salt and pepper.
Heat a frying pan and melt the remaining half of the butter in it. Pour in the mushrooms and stir constantly for seven to eight minutes. Add salt and pepper, then parsley and cream. Mix everything with the rice and add the grated parmesan. Serve hot and above all, bring out a bottle of wine. But which bottle?
What wine to serve with a porcini mushroom risotto?
This classic Italian dish with porcini mushrooms tastes fantastic. The porcini mushrooms offer a particularly silky texture, with undergrowth flavors that are picked up by the rice. The salty character of the parmesan meets the fat of the butter, which adds fondness to this dish. Fortunately, risotto has another great virtue: it goes brilliantly with wine.
For white wines
Food and wine pairings are not lacking for this dish. If you like white wine, opt for a dry white. But not just any dry white! Indeed, for a successful porcini mushroom accord, the dry white must have directness, depth and have aged harmoniously.
For a white to pair with this kind of dish, it must be straight. Its acidity must be sufficient to contain the fat and opulence of this dish. An Alsace Pinot blanc such as the Moulin de Charles is essential. Its hint of acidity is well controlled and well melted, which brings a certain freshness to the meal.
Likewise, a deep wine is a good pairing for this dish. It must have complexity, persistence and good density. This allows the wine to adapt to the rice which has already picked up the flavors of the porcini mushrooms. A white Côtes du Rhône plays this role well. It is deep enough to enhance and harmonize with the aromas of the mushrooms.
In addition, a harmonious aging of the wine allows it to combine well with this meal. Opt for a wine that has had a race evolution, as this gives it notes of undergrowth that blend with the flavor of ceps. You don't need an old vintage, a 2014Sauternes will do just fine.
For red wines
In this category, prefer young to medium-aged red wines. They must have roundness and consistency in the mouth. Nothing better in this case than a Pinot Noir from Burgundy . Its roundness and elegance highlight the fat of the rice and the silky flavor of these mushrooms.
The complexity and the presence of earth and forest nuances are also important, in order to correctly match the humus side of the porcini mushrooms. Similarly, red wine must have enough tannins, such as a Saint-Emilion Grand Cru or this Fragaria cuvée, in order to highlight the smoothness of this dish. Just as with white wines, Côtes du Rhône offer an excellent pairing for this dish. This is the case with this red Côtes du Rhône , whose acidity and spicy notes promote the harmony of the whole.
