“Vinum regum, rex vinorum” – The wine of kings and the king of wines
For centuries, this expression has accompanied Barolo, a mysterious red wine that combines both a rustic and noble image. Barolo is entirely made using the Nebbiolo grape variety and became famous in the 1800s. Nowadays it belongs to the premium category and has long been praised by the world’s top wine experts.
Speaking of Barolo, we must pay tribute to its place of birth, Piedmont. This is a region with a special charm, owing to the abundance of vineyards and a long history of producing excellent wines, as well as an unusual reverence for gastronomic pleasures. Local people love to sip wine slowly, appreciating the flavor and impressions it gives them. Perhaps this is why the Slow Food movement, with its philosophy of healthy eating and leisurely eating, was born in Piedmont.
In this blog, we will talk about the best Barolo food pairing, which reflects its every essence, as well as about wineries with restaurants offering regional cuisine.
Renowned for its robust structure and powerful tannins, Barolo wine is a harmonious companion to hearty and richly-flavored dishes. Barolo's earthy notes and high acidity balance the robust flavors of dishes such as Rib Eye Steak, Prime Rib, or Venison Stew. Additionally, it complements the tender, succulent characteristics of Osso Buco, Veal Chops, or Roasted Goose. Even comfort foods like Cottage Pie find a perfect partner in Barolo. Whether you're planning a lavish banquet or a cozy dinner, Barolo wine elevates the gastronomic experience, making every bite unforgettable.
Barolo food pairing formula
Barolo is exceptional in every way. It has a strong acidity, high tannins and alcohol content, as well as being quite fragrant. It is for all of these reasons that Barolo is deserving of the best of culinary marriages.
One thing to bear in mind is that Barolo’s sharp acidity complements richer, fattier meats better than any other meat. Heavy foods with high-fat content, such as lard or butter, or that have an acid component, such as tomatoes, and/or a protein, such as meat or cheese, are the ideal food partners for Barolo.
Vegetarians need not shy away from such a powerful wine: mushrooms, which are abundant in Piedmont, go nicely with Barolo. As an example, serve Barolo with risotto made with mushrooms or truffles.
It’s easier to combine Barolo with food if you keep these tips in mind.
Consider the bottle age when choosing food to pair with Barolo. Younger wines have riper fruits, such as plums, raspberries, and red and black cherries, as well as more strong tannins. Tertiary notes such as tar, truffle, dried rose petals, rich red, and black fruits emerge as the wine ages and the tannins soften.
Barolo food pairings from Piedmont
Piedmont has given Italy a variety of culinary masterpieces that have glorified this region not only in the country itself but also abroad. Snacks abundant, game, tender meat, risotto, truffles, wine… The list is so long that we might need a blog post just for that, so let’s take a closer look at some of the region’s traditional foods, which have most commonly been paired with the King of Wines.
Barolo & Truffle Food – A Natural Match
There is an old belief in Italy that truffles are born in the ground as an “echo” of the first March thunderstorms, through thunder and lightning. These very lightning bolts, hitting the ground, allegedly injure it, burn it out – and truffles grow in these places. The truffles help to bring out the earthy notes in Barolo and it is considered to be one of the best Barolo food pairs.
A risotto dish made with butter, cream, cheese, and aromatic truffles is just strong enough to stand up to a Barolo. Barolo’s acidity will cut through the dish’s smoothness as well as the fat content of the butter and cheese.
Barolo & Tajarin al Ragù
Tajarin is a thin ribbon pasta with a golden color. It’s a Piedmont specialty that is usually served with a beef ragù or a simple butter and sage sauce, with shaved truffle thrown in for good measure when in season.
Barolo & Risotto with sausage from Bra
Risotto is one of the culinary symbols of Northern Italy, like pizza and spaghetti. It is rice cooked in broth with a creamy flavor and delicate texture. Together with the region’s special sausage salsiccia di Bra (made mostly with lean beef and pork fat for the remainder), this is a risotto your taste buds will remember for a long time. Salsiccia di Bra is similar to a beef tartare in texture and has a more delicate taste compared with other types of Italian sausage.
Barolo & Agnolotti filled with braised meat
Agnolotti del Pin. This variety’s stuffing is typically composed of various meats. A delicate filling is made from veal, rabbit, and exquisite pork, together with herbs, spinach, and rice. This filling has such a delicate flavor that in certain restaurants, this pasta variant is served on white napkins with no sauce at all, so as not to detract from the flavor of the filling. To give a piquant taste, parmesan, nutmeg, salt, and pepper are also added to the filling and of course, Barolo pairing takes the aromas of this dish to another level.
Barolo & Castelmagno Cheese
People may believe that pasta is Italy’s national dish, but when you think about it, cheese is used in almost every distinctive Italian meal. Almost every Piedmont restaurant menu features a variety of dishes incorporating some of the region’s most well-known cheese.
The cheese in question is Castelmagno, the sharp semi-hard pressed cheese named after the Italian commune of Castelmagno (province of Cuneo), where it was made for the first time. This is one of the oldest and rarest Piedmontese cheeses, which sometimes includes goats or sheep’s milk. There are blue mold patches on it. From the “marriage” of Barolo wine and Castelmagno cheese, comes a superb risotto recipe that, alongside truffles, is one of the indisputable stars of Piedmontese cuisine and the best Barolo pair.
Let’s discover Barolo food pairs outside Italy
Barolo & Asian food
High-tannin meal + high-tannin structured wine – slightly spicy Asian foods might surprise you, as they give rise to this successful wine-food pairing. As the Asian cuisine is strong in tannins, they complement the wine beautifully. Below you will discover some of the Asian food to pair with Barolo.
Galbi
If you’re looking for modern-style Barolo food pair, this is the cut to go for. Galbi is a Korean barbecue, juicy marinated beef ribs. This dish with a lot of seasonings has a special, delicate taste. Its meatiness and bone-sticking flavor will snuggle up to these hedonistic wines’ vigorous tannins. Even slathering on the soy sauce won’t disturb the taste of wine.
Koi Soi
This is a Thai salad made of raw beef, sliced by hand. Shallots, fish sauce, chili, lime, and herbs in koi soi are all characteristic Thai flavors. These are the signs of a truly modern combination with a new wave of Barolo, which has a dazzling shine of glossy red fruits and energetic acidity.
Barolo& Chocolate
In the birthplace of Barolo, chocolate and wine have been “married” for a long time. “Marriage”, is exactly what Italians call it when it comes to enogastronomical combinations. In this “wedding” the chocolate takes Barolo Chinato, a quinine version of the famous wine, as its partner.
Barolo Chinato is a wine that has been flavored with herbs, spices, and other aromatics. The key defining ingredient is quinine bark, which can be found in tonic water as well. This adds a little bitterness to the wine. This wine’s bitter edge and round depth of flavor combine for an outstanding combination with chocolate. A small glass of this and a delicious chocolate piece? Something beautiful, unique, and unforgettable in your mouth.
Places Where You Can Pair Barolo with Local Food
Top Barolo pairing what the winery offers is with brasato (braised meat). Brasato is soft beef meat from the rear of the carcass that has been pre-marinated with a variety of spices, herbs, and vegetables before being fried and simmered in red wine at a low temperature. Sumptuous lean beef is served, cut into thin slices, with polenta, with the sauce in which it was cooked, boiled and crushed. They use an actual Barolo wine for cooking, as you could have guessed. This has to be a unique tasting to track down when traveling in Piedmont, Italy.
