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A dry Riesling, a Swiss Chasselas or a crisp Savoie white are the best wines for raclette. Melted cheese is mostly fat and salt, and only acidity clears it off your tongue between mouthfuls. Big reds do the opposite, which is why the table goes quiet after the second round.
Raclette is a long, slow, sociable meal. The wine has to survive an hour of molten cheese, potatoes and pickles without getting tired. That rules out more bottles than people expect.
Table of Contents
The Short Answer
- Dry Riesling. The highest natural acidity of any classic white, and it stays fresh right through the meal.
- Chasselas, sold as Fendant in the Valais. The local answer, light and slightly saline. Hard to find in Australia but worth the hunt.
- A light, cool red such as Pinot Noir or Gamay. Serve it cold, around 13 degrees, and keep the tannin low.
Whatever you pour, serve it colder than you think. Warm wine next to hot cheese is a heavy combination, and the right glass helps the aromatics escape the fat.
What Raclette Does to Wine
Raclette du Valais AOP is a semi-hard, full fat, unpasteurised cheese from the Swiss canton of Valais. It has carried protected origin status since 2007. Full fat is the operative phrase, and melting it changes how it behaves in your mouth.
| What is on the plate | What it does to wine | What the wine needs |
|---|---|---|
| Melted cheese fat | Coats the tongue and flattens flavour | High acidity to cut through it |
| Salt in the cheese | Sharpens tannin into bitterness | Low tannin, so little or no oak-aged red |
| Boiled potatoes | Soak up fat and mute everything | Aromatic lift, not more weight |
| Cornichons and pickled onions | Bring sharp vinegar acid to the table | Wine acid at least as high, or it tastes flat |
| Cured ham or salami | Adds more salt and fat | Freshness again, not power |
The pickles are the part people forget. They are on the table for a reason: they reset the palate. A soft, low acid wine sitting next to a bowl of cornichons has already lost.
Best Wines for Raclette
Dry Riesling, the one to buy in Australia
Lime, green apple and a wet stone note, with acidity that keeps the last bite as interesting as the first. It works because acid is the only thing that genuinely cuts fat, and Riesling has more of it than almost anything else. Clare Valley and Eden Valley are the obvious Australian sources. See our Riesling guide for how to read the label.
Chasselas, the Swiss original
In the Valais it is called Fendant, and it has been the raclette wine for as long as anyone has been scraping cheese off a wheel. It is light, low in alcohol and gently salty, which sounds unexciting until you taste it beside melted cheese. Australian bottle shops rarely stock it, so treat it as a bonus rather than a plan.
A Savoie or alpine white
Jacquere and Altesse from the French Alps grew up eating the same food. They are lean, brisk and low in alcohol, which matters over a two hour dinner. If you see one, buy it.
Pinot Noir, if the table wants red
Light reds can work, as long as they are low in tannin and served cool. Pinot Noir from Tasmania or the Yarra Valley is the safest choice, and Gamay is just as good. Chill the bottle for half an hour and pour small glasses. Our Pinot Noir guide has the regions worth knowing.
Dry sparkling wine
Bubbles plus acid is a proven answer to fried and fatty food, and raclette is no exception. A dry Prosecco or an Australian sparkling works well, especially for the first half hour. Our Prosecco and Cava explainer covers the styles.
What to Avoid
- Big tannic reds. Cabernet Sauvignon and firm Shiraz turn bitter against the salt. Our tannin explainer shows why.
- Heavily oaked Chardonnay. Butter on butter. There is already enough fat on the plate.
- High alcohol anything above about 14 per cent. An hour of cheese and a strong wine is a heavy evening.
- Sweet wines. They can work with blue cheese, but raclette is savoury and salty, and sugar makes it taste cloying.
Drink One Tonight
Sons of Eden Freya Eden Valley Riesling
Eden Valley sits high and cool above the Barossa, and its Rieslings come out with lime, lemon pith and a long dry finish. That finish is the point here: it scrubs the fat away and leaves your mouth ready for the next scrape of cheese. Serve it properly cold, straight from the fridge. Stock checked and available at the time of writing.
- High natural acidity, which is exactly what melted cheese needs
- Eden Valley is Australia's best address for dry Riesling
- Low oak, low fuss, stays fresh for the whole meal
- Bone dry, so it will not suit anyone who prefers a rounder white
- Around twenty six dollars, a little above weeknight money
If You Are Serving It
Melting cheese was recorded in the Valais as far back as 1574, but it was not called raclette until 1874. The name comes from racler, the local word for scrape. That is the whole method: heat the cheese, scrape it over hot potatoes, eat it before it cools.
Two practical things help the wine. Keep the potatoes hot, because lukewarm potato and set cheese are much harder work for any bottle. And open a second, colder bottle halfway through rather than letting the first one warm up on the table. A wine cooler or a jug of iced water does the job.
If you are running a cheese board alongside, our cheese and wine pairing guide covers the other styles, and red wine with cheese handles the reds properly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best wine with raclette?
A dry Riesling is the most reliable choice in Australia. It has the acidity to cut through melted cheese and no oak or tannin to clash with the salt. In Switzerland the traditional answer is Fendant, made from the Chasselas grape in the Valais.
Can you drink red wine with raclette?
Yes, if you choose carefully. Stick to light, low tannin reds such as Pinot Noir or Gamay, and serve them cool at about 13 degrees. Avoid Cabernet Sauvignon and big Shiraz, because the salt in the cheese makes their tannin taste bitter.
Is it true you should not drink water with raclette?
That is an old piece of folklore, not a fact. The idea was that cold water sets the cheese in your stomach. There is no evidence for it, and drinking water alongside a rich meal is sensible. Warm tea is traditional, but it is a custom rather than a rule.
What about beer or schnapps with raclette?
Both are traditional in the Alps and both work. A crisp lager does a similar job to a dry white, and a small glass of kirsch between rounds is a long standing habit. Neither is necessary if the wine is fresh enough.
What temperature should the wine be?
Colder than usual. Whites at about 8 degrees, light reds at about 13. Hot melted cheese makes any wine feel heavier than it is, so the chill buys you back some freshness.
Does raclette go with Champagne?
It does, and a dry sparkling wine is a good opener. The bubbles and the acidity both cut fat. It gets expensive over a long meal, so many people start with sparkling and move to a still white.
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