Within the wide wine and food landscape of our Peninsula, comprising local delicacies and attention to quality ingredients, truffle holds a special place, as the protagonist of many typical Italian dishes. And within the unique tasting experience this prized mushroom represents, choosing the wine to pair with truffle is very important.
Sophisticated and intense flavors such as those released by truffle-based dishes can be even more enhanced by pairing them with fine wines to choose carefully. Just like the most traditional or innovative recipes are made by expertly blending flavors and scents of the different ingredients, in the same way the wine you want to pair with truffle must be part of this harmonious tasting symphony.
Pairing truffle and wine should start by being familiar with both products, which are bold and peculiar in the mouth and on the nose. You need to start from here, to avoid any mistakes when choosing a wine to pair with truffle. Here are the most common mistakes to avoid, in order to enjoy a truffle-based dish in the best way possible.
The most recurring one is pairing white truffle with a white wine and black truffle with a red wine. Actually, choosing the wine should not depend on its color, but rather on its scent and structure.
When choosing a wine to pair with truffle, you should consider both the wine aging method and barrels. For instance, wine aged in wooden barrels, with a rather strong vanilla note, do not pair well with truffle, and could ruin the tasting experience.
Also, when it comes to sparkling wines, you should be careful and frugal: Charmat method sparkling wines tend to cover the flavor of truffle with their sweetness and concentrated effervescence.
Lastly, don't forget that truffle, while being the star of the dish, is not the only ingredients bringing it flavor and texture. It is important to also take the other ingredients that make up the dish into consideration, when choosing what to drink with truffle.
The main rule for the perfect wine-truffle pairing is to consider wine as an accompaniment to truffle, a handmaid that accompanies her lady to make her look even more noble. Wine should never overcome truffle with its taste or scent.
Any wine that enhances the delicate aromaticity of truffle, without overwhelming it with their character or bouquet, are the perfect candidates to accompany truffle-based dishes.
Our advice is to opt for light bodied wines, with an average structure and a discrete quantity of tannins, and with a slightly fragrant scent.
Among Banfi wines, here are those we suggest you to pair with your (black or white) truffle-based dishes.
White truffle, with its pungent and intense aroma, and light scent of garlic, has a delicate flavor with slightly spicy and sweet notes. It is used mainly raw to dress tasty dishes with egg pasta, and it requires a wine not excessively scented, dry and slightly bitter.
When pairing a wine with white truffle, opting for an Italian sparkling wine is the most classic and appreciated choice, especially those obtained with Pinot Nero varieties, such as Banfi Brut Metodo Classico or Cuvée Aurora Blanc de Noirs, whose herbal notes combine perfectly with the pungent aftertaste of the white truffle. Also La Lus, the red Albarossa, a variety obtained by combining Barbera and Nebbiolo grapes, pairs impeccably with white truffle, thanks to its soft and velvety body.
On the other hand, if you are looking for a less traditional wine and white truffle pairing that leaves space to exploring new flavor combinations, the ideal choice to entice your palate is Fontanelle, Banfi wine made with Chardonnay grapes. Elegant and complex, it is perfect for articulate dishes, enriched with a sprinkle of truffle.
Black truffle is more versatile in the kitchen than white truffle, and it can be used both raw or cooked. It has a delicate, almost sweet flavors, and it pairs well with younger structured wines, such as the Rosso di Montalcino. The most famous wine of the Montalcino territory has a broad, harmonic structure, with a well-balanced acidity that graciously contrasts the sweet aftertaste of black truffle.
Lastly, even Chianti Classico pairs very well with traditional dishes, such as black truffle tagliatelle, thanks to its balanced structure and complex, yet non-invasive scent.
