415607 Wed Jun 27 06:10:07 -0700 2007 10 34 Wine 0 2698565 I'm using fresh creminis, and dried chanterelles and porcinis, with a few splashes of dry amontillado and about 1/3 cup cognac, topped with a few drops of truffle oil. On the red side, the only bottle of Italian I have currently is a Pio Cesare dolcetto. Other possibilities are Cline mourvedre, or a Cote du Rhone, Paul Jaboulet parallele '45'. I'm at a loss when it comes to whites. A vouvray? Or go to the mantra I've found quite useful since I've browsed the forums: when in doubt, go rose? and if splurging, make it a rose brut? Thanks for the help again. Wed Jun 27 06:10:07 -0700 2007 97069 mengathon 1 2698620 The dish sounds great, but the Cognac (and Sherry) makes this challenging. A Champagne, particularly with some age on it, might make for a very good pairing. As would something with lots of minerality. Maybe an Austrian white. Particularly, maybe an Austrian dry Riesling. The Vouvray doesn't sound like to bad an idea either, though. If you wanted to serve one of the reds you mentioned, the Dolcetto would probably be the best one... but I would serve white. Wed Jun 27 06:27:00 -0700 2007 2698565 50041 whiner 1 2698654 Ideally a Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo-Barbera blend. Of the reds you list, the Côtes du Rhône or the Dolcetto. I'd incline toward the latter, especially if the risotto had some cheese in it. For a white, the Vouvray's probably got the necessary heft but too much acid and too elusive a flavour. Look instead for a rich Chardonnay or Pinot Gris. Or a winey Champagne, white or rosé. Wed Jun 27 06:35:51 -0700 2007 2698565 10520 carswell 1 2698658 My first choice would be a white Rhône, such as a Crozes-Hermitage, St.-Joseph or a white Châteauneuf-du-Pape -- something rooted in Marsanne and/or Roussanne (*not* Viognier). California "equivalents" would include offerings by Edmunds St. John or Qupé. For a red, my first choice would be something from Piedmonte, which means the Dolcetto if you must, but I'd prefer a Nebbiolo over a Dolcetto for this dish -- not necessarily a Barolo or a Barbaresco, but even a Nebbiolo Langhe. A Rhône red would also work, but in both cases, I would personally prefer something more complex than either your Pio Cesare Dolcetto or Paul Jaboulet Ainè Côtes-du-Rhône (think Cornas, St.-Joseph, or even a Châteauneuf-du-Pape with some age on it). But I agree with whiner -- of your wines, I'd go with the Dolcetto . . .but other wines would work better, IMHO. Wed Jun 27 06:37:06 -0700 2007 2698565 28122 zin1953 1 2701827 My first reaction for reds is pinot noir. But actually quite a few reds would probably work here (zinfandel, nebbiolo, syrah, even cabernet....). I would base the choice on OTHER DISHES in this meal. As for whites, riesling would probably be my first choice. A nicely-developed Marsanne would be second choice. The choice of red or white (or both) would depend on the degree of mushroom concentration in the dish (the more deeply concentrated, the more I'd probably favor a red), AND perhaps most importantly the other dishes to be served at the meal. Wed Jun 27 22:27:53 -0700 2007 2698565 42549 Chicago Mike 1 2702465 Thanks for the suggestions. My dining buddies are not much of a wine drinker, so something too complex, not to mention, a little pricey, would be entirely lost on them. Most likely it will be the dolcetto tonight. FWIW, there's no cheese in the mushroom risotto. The cognac and sherry adds a lot of texture to the dish, and the truffle oil makes it plenty rich. And I generally serve it as a stand alone main course. But for future reference... 1. Would the addition or the lack of cheese sway any of you towards one wine or another. For instance, with a sprinkling of asiago, go with the ____; without it, go with the ___? 2. whiner and carswell, the aged vintage champagnes are decidedly out of my price range. Something that I've had recently that I liked a lot was the Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Rose. What do you think? And what about the Pommery Rose? 3. zin, had forgotten about the '05 Qupe marsanne. I will definitely give this pairing a try. 4. mike, funny you should mention that. I had the '05 Cuvaison Pinot Noir from los Carneros last time I made this, and at first I thought it was a great match. But within a few minutes, the strength of the the black truffle oil completely overwhelmed the perfume of the pinot, and I missed the aromas of the wine. I think I'll take up pinot again, and leave the truffle oil out. Thu Jun 28 07:45:03 -0700 2007 2698565 97069 mengathon 2 2702741 The Nic F Brut Rose is a great Champagne for the price and would probably work quite well, actually. Assuming there is a reasonable amount of butter in your dish, I don't really think a "sprinkling" of Asiago would make much of an impact on my reccomendations. Thu Jun 28 08:55:25 -0700 2007 2702465 50041 whiner 2 2705486 Meng... then this is important information... Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo are perhaps the two most truffle-friendly wines. If your dish is so pungent on the truffle that it overwhelms Pinot, then I would definitely move towards a nebbiolo, the richer of the two wines... And, assuming you go with a Nebbiolo, then a few shavings or dusting of Parmesan Reggiano would be the perfect taste note as Parmesan is a tremendous match with both nebbiolo AND mushroom. As an alternative, you might of course just REDUCE the presence of truffle in the dish and stay with the Pinot. Thu Jun 28 23:19:59 -0700 2007 2702465 42549 Chicago Mike 3 2707445 Funny, while I agree that Nebbiolo can work well with truffles, I don't see Pinot so much. For me the best pairings with truffles (particularly white truffles or truffle oil) is dry Riesling (preferably Austrian), dry (Tokay) Pinot Gris, and a Rhone-styled Roussanne or Marssanne. Fri Jun 29 13:58:56 -0700 2007 2705486 50041 whiner 1 2718114 I had forgotten about a bottle of white CDR that I had. The white Rhone worked really well; the dolcetto, not so much. 2004 CdR Blanc, Paul Jaboulet Aine, Parellele 45. 50% grenache blanc, 20% marsanne, 10% rousanne, a couple of other varietals I don't remember. I've read some reviews of PJA whites and most of them were at pretty critical, but more receptive to his reds. Maybe I'm just a simple kinda guy, but I really liked how simple this wine was. The color was a pale yellow. There were some scents of grass and flowers, and just the right hint of oak. The citrus notes were muted, and the finish was pretty blah. It was a little heavy and hot at first, but got a bit cleaner with some time in the glass. Overall, it went with the risotto pretty well, and was more refreshing than I had expected. It's a pretty good everyday house wine, especially in the winter, but the ABV of 14% is a little high for my tastes. Next time, I'll go for a middle class Crozes. 2005 Pio Cesare Dolcetto d'Alba I chilled it just a little bit. The color was dark purple, darker than what I had expected. It was a little heavier than the typical dolcetto, and had more vegetal tones than fruit (non-negative). I also got an inky taste at the back of mouth. It wasn't pleasant or unpleasant, but again, just unexpected. I think someone had mentioned on another topic that they appreciated the lead pencil quality of a certain cru Beaujolais. I think that description is also appropriate. Probably not the best match for the risotto, but not awful either. I'm going to stock a couple of good bottles of nebbiolo for next time. Any suggestions? Again, thanks for the help. Tue Jul 03 19:32:31 -0700 2007 2698565 97069 mengathon 1 2718121 how bout a dry moscato Tue Jul 03 19:38:08 -0700 2007 2698565 108995 abe stein