Wine with Mushrooms

Button mushrooms in a simple sauté suit a village-level Burgundy — a Bourgogne Rouge or a Marsannay, where the wine's earthy simplicity mirrors the dish. More complex mushroom dishes — risotto with porcini, beef Wellington, a duxelles-stuffed chicken, a wild mushroom tart — deserve something with greater depth. A Gevrey-Chambertin or a Chambolle-Musigny would be at home with a mushroom-rich sauce, their earthy, forest-floor notes echoing the fungi with an almost uncanny precision.

The reason the pairing works so well is chemical as well as aromatic. Both aged Pinot Noir and mushrooms develop similar volatile compounds during maturation — specifically, 1-octen-3-ol, the molecule responsible for that distinctive earthy, mushroomy aroma. When you swirl a glass of mature Burgundy and catch the scent of damp forest floor, you are detecting the same compound that gives a freshly picked cep its character.

For less Burgundy-centric options, a Nebbiolo from Langhe or an aged Rioja Reserva both carry the earthiness required. Nebbiolo's tar and dried-rose character alongside a truffle risotto is one of Piedmont's defining food-wine moments. For white wine lovers, an aged white Burgundy (Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet) with a few years of bottle age develops a mushroomy, earthy note of its own that is remarkable with a truffle or porcini dish.

The type of mushroom matters. Chanterelles, with their delicate apricot-like flavour, suit lighter wines — a white Burgundy or even a dry Chenin Blanc from Vouvray. Morels, earthy and nutty, are extraordinary with a mature Pinot Noir. Truffles — the king of fungi — demand the finest wine you can open.