Oltrepò Pavese / Langhe borderlands, Lombardia
The great red wine risotto of Lombardia's border with Piedmont — Carnaroli rice toasted in a soffritto of shallots and butter, then cooked in stages with Barolo DOCG (or Barbera for a lighter version) added in place of white wine, building to a deep burgundy-purple risotto finished with aged Parmigiano and cold butter. The Barolo's tannins soften during cooking and its fruit — blackberry, tar, rose — becomes the aromatic scaffold of the dish. Paired with braised meats or ossobuco.
Deep, tannic, earthy with blackberry and tar undertones from the Barolo, balanced by the creaminess of butter and Parmigiano — a genuinely complex risotto
Use a wine you would drink — the cooking concentrates defects as well as virtues. The wine must be added in stages (not all at once) to prevent shocking the starches and creating a gummy, dense texture. The final mantecatura with cold butter off the heat creates the all'onda (wave) consistency — loosely flowing, not porridge-set. Parmigiano added in two stages: some during mantecatura, some plated.
For the deepest colour and flavour, substitute 50% of the Barolo with a reduced Barolo demi-glace. Ossobuco braising juices used as the broth (in place of beef stock) produces a miraculously unified pairing. Finish with a few drops of Grappa di Barolo to add a volatile top note that contrasts with the wine's depth.
Using cheap wine — Barolo risotto made with poor wine tastes of poor wine. Adding all the wine at once shocks the starch and kills the wave-like flow. Serving too dry — red wine risotto must be wetter than white wine risotto because the tannins absorb and tighten the starch. Under-toasting the rice before liquid addition produces a starchy, glue-like result.
Il Riso in Cucina — Gualtiero Marchesi