Wine and raclette: can you find a more cheerful evocation? Hard to do, we’ll grant you. To pull off this pairing, there are a few recommendations to make. With them, you’ll have all your answers to the question “what wine to drink with raclette?”.
What wine to serve with raclette?
Raclette is generally drunk with Savoie wines. Here are the wines to pick to drink with raclette:
- A Chignin (Savoie)
- Roussette du Bugey (Savoie)
- Crozes Hermitage or Saint Joseph (Côtes du Rhône)
- Juliénas
- Bourgueil
If you’re eating charcuterie with your raclette, other pairings can be made.
White or red: what wine to drink with raclette?
If raclette is served without meat, naturally lean toward a white. Don’t pick a white that’s too dry, but make sure to offer a wine that keeps a lovely note of acidity. If your raclette is served with meat, you have the choice between a white and a red. If you go for a red, we’d recommend a red with melted-in tannins. Serving such a red at the right temperature, you can surprise your guests with a really original pairing. Generally, grapes like Gamay or the famous Pinot Noir will be excellent choices in red.
Pairings with raclette
Even if it wasn’t the case originally, raclette is now generally served with charcuterie. That combination makes pairings slightly trickier. On one hand, you have the melting, firm cheese, and on the other, slightly salty charcuterie. To find the perfect pairing between wine and raclette, you have to find the balance. So the wine you choose must have lovely acidity and, at the same time, enough length to not be smothered by the cheese.
Raclette is an emblematic dish from the Alps. Here’s the recipe. As tradition would have it, it’s generally better to pair the dish with a wine from the same region. Raclette is no exception. So we’d recommend going for a Savoie wine (Mondeuse Blanche, Altesse or Roussanne are interesting grapes). If you don’t want to go for a Savoie wine with raclette, here are some alternatives:
- The Côtes du Rhône, with a Saint Joseph or a Crozes Hermitage;
- In Burgundy, a Mâcon or a Pouilly-Fuissé;
- Some Jura wines can also be interesting for raclette.
If you decide to eat charcuterie with your raclette (we get it), you can get a slightly adjusted pairing. In that case, a Jongieux blanc (Savoie), an Arbois (Jura) or a Côtes de Nuits Villages (Burgundy) will be excellent choices to go with this winter meal.
So with these tips, you now know what to drink with raclette. It’s up to you to share this delicious meal with friends and family. You’ll have an immediate answer when someone asks you what wine to drink with raclette.
