Risotto is the emblematic dish of Northern Italy. It embraces a particularly wide palette of savours and thus offers scope for many aromatic combinations. Either white meats or seafood are added to a base of rice with a hint of saffron. The former pair up perfectly with a young rosé, and the latter with a smooth white. Mushroom or cuttlefish ink or even beef marrow risotto needs to be washed down with a lively wine sporting the necessary aromatic intensity.
The clue to finding the right wine is the tomato sauce; the pasta or rice doesn’t stand a chance against its acidic flavour. A wine that can counter the acidity of the tomato will also be able to adapt to the intensity of the garlic. Choose a red with few tannins but that is very smooth on the palate; or a refreshing, lively and very aromatic white; or even an intense and lively rosé.
Hot melted or baked cheese - particularly strong cheese - can give off strong aromas. Such a dish needs a lively and very aromatic white or rosé for balance.
Don’t take the limelight away from the sauce in such a subtle dish; it has to dominate. Aim rather to accentuate its mildness by combining it with quite a lively white or rosé with a mineral touch. This will strike an attractive contrast. Avoid reds as their tannins react badly to milky flavours.
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