Polenta, flavouring profile

Polenta, flavouring profile

Polenta is soft, sweetish and buttery, a blank canvas that takes its character from the butter, cheese, mushrooms or ragu on top, and it asks for a wine with gentle weight and fresh acidity.

The compounds that matter. The mild sweetness of cooked corn, which makes a lean, sharp wine seem thin. Butter and cheese, often stirred through in quantity, which coat the palate and need acidity. When grilled or fried, a toasted crust that suits a wine with a little savoury depth.

What it demands of a wine. Medium body, fresh acidity and ripe fruit. Tannin kept low to moderate, since a savoury topping of mushrooms or cheese hardens it. In the north of Italy, where polenta is daily food, the answer is often a light, fresh red.

Seek. Teroldego from Trentino, dark fruited and fresh, for polenta with sausage or ragu. Lagrein from Alto Adige, deep and firm, for polenta under game, whose fat softens its grip. Roussanne from the northern Rhône, round and honeyed, for soft polenta with butter and parmesan. Trollinger from Alto Adige, pale and gentle, for grilled polenta with cheese.

Avoid

Big, heavily oaked reds, which bury a dish this gentle. Very lean, sharp whites, which the butter and corn make thin and sour.

Three to reach for. Teroldego, Trentino, Italy. Roussanne, northern Rhône, France. Trollinger, Alto Adige, Italy.