Best Wine for Risotto - RecipeFAQ (2024)

A well-made Risotto is savory, creamy, and richly flavorful. And wine can be a key ingredient to help develop those flavors. So how do you choose the right one? Here are some ideas for the best wine for risotto — both as an ingredient and as a complement.

I’ve made and eaten a lot of different types of Risotto. On our sister site, Urban Bliss Life, we have a couple of great recipes up right now for Mushroom Risotto and Prawn Risotto.

Both of them call for some wine to add acidity and flavor. But choosing the right wine can depend on what kind of risotto you’re making.

That’s also true when selecting which wine to drink alongside it. And as I’ll show you, while it can often make sense to pair your finished risotto with the same wine you used to make it, that doesn’t always need to be the case.

Best wines to use in risotto

In most cases, a dry, crisp white wine with bright acidity is ideal for risotto, as the acid can help moderate the richness of the dish. And you have several to choose from. Here are a few varietals to consider when making your risotto, along with how best to use each one.

Sauvignon Blanc

Most Sauvignon Blancs are aged in stainless steel, so they won’t give your risotto any unpleasant woodsy flavors like some oak-aged wines. While this type of wine is produced all over the world, opt for ones made in France or the United States. They’ll have more prominent grassy and herb characteristics that will complement the savory nature of your risotto.

Similar wines from Australia or New Zealand are often more tropical fruit-forward, which can make for an unwelcome contrast.

Best type of risotto to cook with this wine: Use Sauvignon Blanc in a light vegetable risotto packed with green, spring vegetables like peas, broccoli, or asparagus.

Pinot Grigio

Another good choice for wine when cooking risotto is a dry, crisp Pinot Grigio. These wines are produced in cooler climates in Italy, which leaves the grapes and wines with higher acid levels and a pleasant tartness.

They also commonly feature flavors of lemon, lime, and orange, as well as green apple and honey — all of which will work very well in risotto. And overall, Pinot Grigio has a mellow taste, so it won’t overpower your dish.

Best type of risotto to cook with this wine: Pinot Grigio is the perfect match in a rich, butternut squash, parmesan, or creamy mushroom risotto, as the high acid of the wine will help balance out the richness of the risotto.

Chardonnay

Chardonnay can come either oaked or unoaked. When using it in risotto, go for the unoaked style. It will have crisper, cleaner flavors without the added smokiness or spices that can come with oak aging.

Dry, cool climate Chardonnays from France and areas of North America like Oregon, will generally have more risotto-friendly notes like citrus and apple. A nice Chablis (a type of French Chardonnay) with crisp acidity and hints of citrus will also work well. And they are almost always unoaked.

Best type of risotto to cook with this wine: Poultry is a classic food pairing with Chardonnay. An unoaked Chardonnay can be ideal for cooking a chicken risotto.

Pinot Blanc

This dry white wine features nutty, citrusy, and apple notes, all of which make it a delicious candidate for cooking risotto. It features moderate acid so it can be used in less creamy types of risotto that don’t require high levels of acidity to help create balance.

Best type of risotto to cook with this wine: Pinot blanc pairs well with shellfish, so try using it in a light shrimp risotto or mussels risotto.

Arneis

This type of very dry, mild white wine is native to northern Italy’s Piedmont region, which is cooler than many other Italian wine-growing areas. That translates to wine with low to moderate acidity.

In terms of flavors, Arneis typically features notes of stone fruit like pear and peach, along with some nuttiness.

Best type of risotto to cook with this wine: Arneis is a good option in a simple Parmesan cheese risotto with fresh herbs and garlic. For some extra decadence, consider topping the risotto with seared scallops.

Riesling

Rieslings come in a range of styles from very sweet to dry. You’ll want to use a dry style in risotto so your dish doesn’t end up too sweet. Dry Rieslings will often have notes ofcitrus fruits like Meyer lemon and stone fruit, along with bright acidity.

Best type of risotto to cook with this wine: The crispness and higher acidity of a dry Riesling will work well when cooking something like a spicy risotto with red pepper flakes or a smoked paprika risotto.

⭐️ Tip: It may be tempting to opt for an inexpensive wine when using it for cooking, but cheaper wines can impart unintended flavors in your finished dish, like intense oaky notes or sweetness. Instead, go for something a bit higher in quality that can enhance, rather than harm, the overall taste of the risotto.

Can you use red wine to make risotto?

While most risotto recipes call for white wine, you can use red wine for certain risotto dishes.

Mushroom risotto works well with the addition of some Pinot Noir. The wine typically features more earthy notes that some refer to as “forest floor,” meaning things like dried leaves, and, you guessed it, mushrooms. It’s a quirky but apt description that ends up tasting a lot better than it sounds!

You can also use red wine in a simple risotto with parmesan and fresh herbs.

If you decide to use a red, it’s best to go with a dry, light to medium-bodied style like the aforementioned Pinot Noir or even a Merlot, so it doesn’t overpower the dish.

Wines not to use in risotto

As mentioned above, try to steer clear of adding sweet white wines to risotto. They can create an overly sugary taste that will clash with the savoriness of the dish. The same goes for sweeter red wines.

And it’s worth repeating the caution about using oaked Chardonnays in risotto, or you might end up with a dish that tastes unexpectedly woody, leatherly, or in some cases with hints of caramel.

Other kinds of wine to avoid cooking with when it comes to risotto are big bold reds like Cabernet Sauvignons or Syrahs, and very sweet dessert wines. Their flavors will simply take over the dish. And skip any cooking wine as it’s usually very low quality.

Finally, don’t use overly expensive wine. Save that for pairing with the risotto when it’s ready to serve. Which leads us to…

Best wines to pair with risotto

It’s always handy to pair your completed risotto with the same wine that you used to cook it. But you don’t necessarily have to. In fact, various types of risotto go well with a variety of different wines. Here are some delicious risotto and wine pairings.

Buttery Chardonnay. Pair this type of full-bodied white wine with a creamy parmesan, brown butter, or lobster risotto. A richer Chardonnay (as opposed to a dryer, unoaked style) is an excellent choice to complement the luxuriousness of these dishes.

Sauvignon Blanc. Not only are these great to use for cooking risotto, they’re also tasty to drink with it. Try a Sauvignon Blanc with seafood risotto with shrimp or crabs. The wine is also a good match for spring risotto with fresh green vegetables.

Pinot Noir. The earthy flavor of Pinots makes them the perfect wine pairing for mushroom risotto. Pinots also generally have a lighter, more delicate body, so they won’t dominate the rich flavor of the risotto. And their moderate to high acidity can help balance the rich, creaminess of the dish.

Chianti. This medium-bodied Italian wine often features herbaceous flavors including thyme and oregano. That can also pair well with mushroom risottos. And the zesty acidity in Chianti or Chianti Classico also goes nicely with a tangy lemon risotto or a tomato risotto.

Other wines that can complement specific types of risottos include bigger bolder reds like Cabernet Sauvignon (for those that include meat like sausage) or Barolo (an especially good option with truffle risotto).

FAQ

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