When the seasons change, so do food and clothes. What about wines? Should we also match our wines with the seasons? Here are three suggestions for white wines for the autumn, along with some food ideas
Wine lovers are always looking for a reason to uncork their next bottle. What better reason than finding wine to match the current season? In this article you will find my suggestions on white wines for the autumn (if you are looking for some reds to pair with the season, click here).
Although often overlooked, autumn is my favourite season. Spring is rebirth. Summer makes you want to walk barefoot at the seaside (unless you live in London, sigh…). But nothing compares to the splendour of autumn colours with their shades of red, gold and yellow. Mornings are often clear and sunny, with crisp breezes ruffling multi-coloured leaves. Temperatures are cool but not so cold as to prevent a nice stroll in the park.
And then the food. There’s something comforting about the food that fall brings. The garden offers its last vegetables before the harshness of winter. Potatoes, pumpkins, courgettes are ideal for soothing soups. Also, this season is heaven for mushroom lovers. Porcini, chestnut mushrooms, truffles, chanterelle and other delicacies are the main ingredients of many earthy autumnal dishes.
For the meat-eaters among us (I’m one of them) autumn is equally prodigious. Deer, wild boar, pheasants, guinea hen and partridge become available for countless mouthwatering recipes.
Seasonal pairing
Some people believe in a seasonal pairing between food and wine. Having spent most of my life in Italy where the bond between these two elements is strong, seasonal pairings make perfect sense to me. That leads to the natural question: what wines would you drink in autumn?
Let’s make it clear: there is no right answer. Of course, everybody’s free to drink whatever they prefer. Many argue that food and wine pairing is total malarkey. Perhaps they have a point. However, I do think it’s fun to pair wine with the season you’re in. Fall might favour red wine, but that does not mean we have to stop drinking white, right? Here are my recommendations of three white wines for the autumn. With some food pairings to try.
Ribolla Gialla: a peachy white
If you fancy a hearty fish dish or white meat, or you’re just looking for a bolstering aperitif, ribolla gialla is a superb choice. Ribolla gialla is a white grape variety with high acidity (so food-friendly) and characterised by peachy, ripe apple and grapefruit flavours with a pleasant flowery undertone. It’s widespread in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in Italy and in Slovenia (where it’s called rebula).
Ribolla gialla has a long tradition in Friuli. Although its reputation has been revived in recent years, a few centuries ago ribolla gialla was considered one of Italy’s best wines. In the 13th century it was largely found on the dining tables of Venice’s aristocracy. When Leopold III annexed Trieste to the Hapsburg Empire in the 14th Century, he demanded an annual tribute of one hundred of the best ribolla gialla casks. Leopold must have been a party guy!
Vinnae is a wonderful wine made from from the ribolla gialla grape. It is produced by Jermann, a winemaker based in the Friuli region of Northern Italy. Jermann needs no introduction. His Vintage Tunina and Were Dreams are iconic wines that every Italian wine lover should experience.
Jermann - Vinnae Ribolla Gialla, 2018
Country: Italy
Region/appellation: Friuli-Venezia Giulia - Venezia Giulia IGT
Wine style: Dry white - Aromatic and Floral
Grape(s): 90% Ribolla Gialla, 5% Friulano, 5% Riesling
Average price: £25
Silvio Jermann is one of the few vignerons to put Friuli Venezia Giulia on the wine map. His ancestors moved from Austria to Villanova di Ferrara, the family headquarters, in the 18th century. The Jermanns started as sharecroppers but later bought their own vineyards.
When Silvio Jermann finished his “wine school”, he came back home with a revolutionary idea. Abandoning the production of heavy and strong wines, he advocated finesse, harmony and an approach which embraced both modernity and tradition. Since the 1970s, Jermann has consistently released terrific wines that have been acknowledged as Italian masterpieces: Vintage Tunina, Were Dreams, Capo Martino and Vinnae.
Vinnae was first released in 1983. The wine’s name is a nod to Silvio Jermann’s second son and commemorates the Jermann family’s 100 years of winemaking at Villanova (“Vinnae” comes from “vinnaioli”, which means “wine growers”).
Tasting notes
(tasted on: 09-Oct-2019)
The wine has a lemon hue and a pale intensity of colour. Dipping your nose into the glass, the wine reveals notes of grapefruit, sweet orange and yellow peach in the attack. It’s aromatic with a good complexity. Hints of lemon blossoms, yellow flowers, mimosa, hay are wrapped by a subtle toasty note (Vinnae spends minimal time in oak, just 6 months).
To the palate, the body is full with a satisfying weight. The attack is fruity, with focused aromas of pulpy yellow peaches, nectarines, sweet orange juice and apricots. The mid-palate is redolent of lovely spicy notes, mirroring the nose. Medium+ to pronounced in intensity of flavours. The high acidity confers a great kinetic energy to this wine – contributing a general impression of vibrance and freshness. The wine has a quite long finish, aromatic and balanced – as is everything in this wine!
Wine and other Stories rating: 8.9/10
Chardonnay: a grape for every season
Chardonnay is a versatile wine. As such, you might well drink it all year round. It’s a highly adaptable grape, revealing different personalities depending on the climate, wine region and winemaker.
Where cold region chardonnay (such as Chablis) might be perfect for the summer, for the changing season of autumn I recommend chardonnay from moderate climates. Burgundy in France is the obvious choice to find excellent chardonnay with such characteristics. If you don’t want to hurt your pocket too much, you might opt for alternative New World regions. Good examples can be found from Los Carneros and Sonoma in California, Gisborne and Marlborough in New Zealand, Mendoza in Argentina, Casablanca Valley in Chile and the Adelaide Hills in Australia.
The chardonnay I chose to highlight is from the Adelaide Hills in Australia. Forget your ABC (“Anything But Chardonnay“) slogan, this Bacchant Chardonnay by Lobethal Road is a true gem. It’s not the classic New World buttery Chardonnay. In fact, it’s a really balanced wine. Rich and generous for the autumn weather, but not too hefty. Food recommendation? I would say chicken ragout!
Lobethal Road - Bacchant Chardonnay, 2015
Country: Australia
Region/appellation: South Australia - Adelaide Hills
Wine style: Dry White - Buttery and Complex
Grape(s): chardonnay
Average price: £34
Established in 1998 by Dave Neyle and Inga Lidums, Lobethal Road is a family-owned winery based at the foot of Mount Torrens in the Adelaide Hills of Southern Australia.
Lobethal Road is an estate producer, meaning they only make wine from grapes grown on their premises. Dave and Inga believe wine is made in the vineyard. As such, they follow a minimal intervention policy. They also embrace an environmentally sustainable approach to vineyard management – for example using solar energy throughout the property.
“Bacchant” Chardonnay is made from the best parcels of Lobethal Road’s vineyards. Its name is inspired by Bacchus – the greek god of wine. Hand pruned and hand picked, the chardonnay is fermented in French oak with the use of wild yeast.
Tasting notes
(tasted on: 17-Jun-2019)
Straw-hued and pale in the glass, the wine opens up with great intensity of flavours on the nose. It’s aromatic, perfumed, floral and seductive. Succulent stone and tropical fruit mingle with secondary flavours adding a sweet twist. Peach pulp, papaya, guava notes are soon followed by a mix of vanilla, coconut, jasmine, honeysuckle and candied citrus. In spite of the exuberance of the aromatic profile, the wine reveals a surprising balance and poise.
On the palate, this chardonnay is full in body, rich, fleshy and lush. In the attack, there are impressions of juicy yellow peaches, tropical fruit and grapefruit which are so ripe that they seem almost sweet. The fruit aromas are followed by loads of flowery scents such as iris, jasmine and honeysuckle. The intense primary aromas are encased by lovely scents of toast and vanilla. The mouthfeel is creamy and rich without being bulky. A good acidity (medium+) helps maintain freshness and definition of flavours. Very concentrated, precise, intense, balanced, culminating with a long mouthwatering finish.
Wine and other Stories rating: 9.0/10
Manzanilla: the refinement of a misunderstood style
Sherry wine might disappear in the future. If you think that wouldn’t be a loss, it’s because Sherry is an acquired taste and therefore it can be difficult to appreciate at first. Nonetheless it remains one of the most intriguing and complex wine styles out there.
Sherry is a fortified wine produced in the Jerez area of Andalucia in Spain. It’s made mainly from palomino fino, a relatively neutral grape. The multi-layered flavours of this style are ascribed to Sherry’s peculiar winemaking process. If you want to find out more about Sherry, read my mini-series dedicated to Jerez and Sherry.
Beyond being often ridiculously underpriced, Sherry is an extraordinarily food-friendly wine. Different styles exist (both dry and sweet, although the former prevails) meaning you can always find the perfect Sherry to match any dish. In autumn, I would suggest either a Fino (or Manzanilla) or an Amontillado Sherry. These styles provide a good balance between freshness and rich flavours, showing characteristic aromas of rancio, green olives and the signature saline minerality that makes Sherry so attractive (I see your skeptical look, but I can assure you will feel the same if you try enough Sherry!)
My autumnal Sherry recommendation is La Bota de Manzanilla Pasada No. 59 Sherry by Equipo Navazos. This is an intense and complex Sherry. In some respects, it is also an atypical wine as it’s heavier in body and more powerful than traditional-style Manzanilla. Perfect with a wide range of autumnal food: charcuterie, richly prepared fish, scrambled eggs with mushrooms and Asian dishes.
(For more information about this unique producer, see this article from Sherry Notes, arguably the best blog for Sherry lovers!)
Equipo Navazos - La Bota de Manzanilla Pasada No. 59 Sherry, NV
Country: Spain
Region/appellation: Jerez - Manzanilla Sanlucar de Barrameda
Wine style: Fortified White - Dry and Nutty
Grape(s): palomino fino
Average price: £36
Equipo Navazos is an unorthodox Sherry producer with a fascinating story. It is the story of a true wine lover (Eduardo Ojedo, the man behind this project) with an unrestrained affection for Sherry. Equipo Navazos’s tale began in late 2005, when Eduardo Ojedo visited a small old bodega in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, one of the capitals of Sherry. There Mr. Ojedo discovered several casks of exceptionally fine Amontillado Sherry which had remained unsold and almost abandoned. He decided to rescue those jewels, bottling 600 specimens and calling his creation La Bota de Amontillado / Navazos N°1. The name is a bow to Edgar A. Poe’s popular story “The Cask of Amontillado”
Since then, year after year, Equipo Navazos selected specific butts of outstanding Sherry wine from different bodegas around the Jerez area. Each time, with the same idea in mind – bottling the best casks and releasing great Sherry with a progressive numeration. The “La Bota” series was born.
“La Bota” by Equipo Navazos started as a private initiative, whose sole beneficiaries were a restricted number of wine writers, distributors and sommeliers. By the time of La Bota de Fino – Macharnudo Alto N°7 (in 2008), Equipo Navazos decided to make his beauties available to the general public. And we are very grateful for that!
This “Capataz Rivas” borrows its name from Rafael Rivas, the boss (“Capataz”) of the La Guita bodega until his retirement in 2011. Three years earlier, Equipo Navazos purchased a few butts from Rafael Rivas to produce this powerful and complex wine.
Tasting notes
(tasted on: 27-Sep-2019)
This Manzanilla is amber-hued in the glass, with a medium intensity of colour. On the nose, it has a pronounced intensity of flavours. It opens up with fresh sensations of saline minerality and almonds. Oxidised notes then follow. Roasted nuts, walnuts, rancho and butterscotch nuances, green olives with tangy notes and a touch of white flowers.
On the palate, this sherry is bone dry, medium in acidity and full bodied. Toasty nuts and a resolute briny iodine minerality mingle in the attack, with green olive, walnut kernet and orange rind in the mid-palate. A tannic sensation gently lingers. This wine transforms on the palate, attaining more and more complexity as you savour it. Gaining nuances of smoke, dried straw and chargrilled wood. There is a great tension between the characteristic flavours of a typical Manzanilla and the oxidatives notes which loom above. Huge intensity of flavours, richness and elegance. A wonderful long finish.
I hope you enjoyed my suggestions on white wines for the autumn. Do you have any favourite for this beautiful season? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below. Now, if you excuse me, I’m going to pop an autumnal bottle to celebrate wearing my winter coat for the first time this season!
Wine and other Stories rating: 9.2/10
I hope you enjoyed my suggestions on white wines for the autumn. Do you have any favourite for this beautiful season? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below. By the way, I also have some tips about reds wines for the autumn! Now, if you excuse me, I’m going to pop an autumnal bottle to celebrate wearing my winter coat for the first time this season!
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