Barolo substitutes

The identical grape grown in the same corner of Piedmont, just outside the Barolo boundary or aged for less time, so you get the same rose-petal and dried-cherry perfume and the same firm tannin, only a little less concentrated and considerably less expensive.

Best for

brasato al Barolo, risotto al Barolo, beef and veal braises, short ribs, mushroom dishes, marinades

This is what people in Piedmont actually cook with, and it is the honest answer to the question. In a three-hour braise the difference between this and a bottle of true Barolo is essentially undetectable, because the qualities you paid extra for are precisely the ones heat destroys.

Nebbiolo from a neighbouring commune, aged slightly less, and generally a touch more perfumed and marginally less massive, so it behaves the same way in a pot and tastes fractionally more elegant and less brooding.

Best for

brasato, risotto, beef braises, game, mushroom dishes

Functionally interchangeable with Barolo, and just as expensive, so this only makes sense if you already have an open bottle. If you do, use it and do not feel guilty; a braise made with either is superb.

The everyday Piedmontese red, with even higher acidity than Nebbiolo but far less tannin, so a braise made with it tastes brighter, juicier and noticeably lighter in body, with none of the drying grip that gives brasato al Barolo its structure.

Best for

braises, risotto, ragu, sausage and pork, beans and lentils

Cheap, easy to find and genuinely traditional in the same kitchens. To make up for the missing structure, reduce the wine further before adding stock, and finish the sauce off the heat with a tablespoon of cold butter, which gives back some of the weight.

Shares the high acidity, tart cherry fruit and savoury leather quality, and has moderate tannin, so it fills the same structural role reasonably well, but it has none of Nebbiolo's rose-and-tar perfume and reads as more herbal and tomato-friendly.

Best for

beef braises, ragu, tomato-based stews, pork, beans

The most widely available substitute that will not let you down. The gap is aromatic rather than structural, which is why the dried porcini trick helps so much when you use it in a Piedmontese recipe.

Both are made partly from dried grapes, so they bring a raisiny, bittersweet richness Barolo does not have, and Amarone in particular is high in alcohol and slightly sweet, which makes a braise taste rounder and more port-like rather than austere and perfumed.

Best for

beef and game braises, short ribs, risotto, long-cooked stews

Delicious but a different dish. Cut any sugar in the recipe, since the dried-grape sweetness concentrates, and stop reducing sooner than you would with Nebbiolo to avoid a syrupy result.

This is a rebuild rather than a substitute, and it is worth being clear that it cannot approach the original: you get savoury depth, tart cherry fruit, acidity and genuine earthy umami from the mushrooms, but no tannic grip and none of the floral perfume that defines Nebbiolo.

Best for

alcohol-free braises, beef stews, risotto, gravies

Soak the porcini in hot water, chop them into the dish and add the strained soaking liquid, which is where most of the flavour is. Add the vinegar off the heat. The result is a very good beef braise that is honestly not a version of brasato al Barolo.