Top pairings | The best wine pairings for vitello tonnato (2024)

FAQs

Top pairings | The best wine pairings for vitello tonnato? ›

Top pairings

For me, the best wine to serve with Vitello Tonnato is the dense velvety red. I like to eat Vitello with Merlot, Chianti Classico or even Chianti Reserve. But for Vitello Tonnato, white wine from the Piedmont region is also superb option; for instance, try Roero Arneis or Gavi.

The Vitello tonnato (veal with tuna sauce) is a typical Piedmontese dish. Although known by its French name “vitel tonnè”, this recipe is clearly Italian.

Pork tenderloin is a great stand-in for this dish, which is traditionally made with more expensive veal. Cooking the tenderloin in a low oven guarantees moist, tender results.

So a tannic and powerful red wine should be ruled out, while delicate whites and reds go very well with it. For the whites, prefer those that come from less exuberant vine varieties.

Top pairings

Other neutral dry Italian white wines such as a Vermentino or even a quality Pinot Grigio from the Alto Adige would be a good match too. *It's not traditional but a mineral Chablis or Aligoté would work as would a mature Muscadet-sur-lie or an Albarino.

It is prepared at least a day or more in advance by braising or simmering a piece of veal from the back leg called Eye Round, which is then cut into thin, individual servings.

The fact that this dish is also known as vitel tonné may be misleading: veal with tuna sauce (vitello tonnato in Italian) is an authentic and traditional Italian recipe that has been copied worldwide.

noun. calf [noun] the young of a cow, elephant, whale etc. veal [noun] the flesh of a calf, used as food. (Translation of vitello from the PASSWORD Italian–English Dictionary © 2014 K Dictionaries Ltd)

What do Italians call veal? ›

Veal in Italy. “If you are in Milan and you're talking about veal, then you are only ever talking about vitello da late, la carne bianca, bianca alla Milanese!”

Veal originated in ancient European times and became popular with the Romans, Austrians, and the French. The tender meat and lack of fat made this meat a delicacy around Europe. Veal is usually priced higher as compared to the standard cuts of meat.

Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc, and dry sparkling wines labeled "brut" are especially good choices. Fuller whites with strong, oaky flavors, like some Chardonnays, don't work as well for cooking because they are lower in acidity and don't provide as much punch as the crisper wines.

If you need a wine to pair with veal parmigiana or the best wine for Veal Parmigiana, you could try a Merlot to go with it. (mer-LOH): A dry red wine with plum, blackberry & clove notes.

The wine should have the same flavor intensity as the food. Red wines pair best with bold flavored meats (e.g. red meat). White wines pair best with light-intensity meats (e.g. fish or chicken). Bitter wines (e.g. red wines) are best balanced with fat.

Italian sausage makes any meal a little more savory. Hot or mild, whole or crumbled, it pairs well with a variety of vegetables — including bright peppers, crunchy kale, fennel, and briny olives — as well as beans and pasta.

They typically serve beet salad (cooked and sliced thin with an onion, garlic, vinegar, and olive oil), green salad with citrus in a mustard lemon dressing, and either a tomato salad, radish and scallion salad, or green salad with mushrooms - depending on what they have on hand.

Au Gratin potatoes are rich. Serve them with leaner proteins such as beef tenderloin, grilled or roasted chicken, and pan-seared fish.

Grilled or Roasted Vegetables

When selecting vegetables to prepare with your veal, choose tasty vegetables like artichokes, eggplants, mushrooms, onions, olives, spinach, leeks, tomatoes, and more. Potatoes also make a great side dish, which we'll get into next.