Autumn Harvest: 6 Bottles of Wine To Try This Season

Enhance nature’s rich flavours, says Julie Dupouy …

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Autumn is here and summer already feels like a distant memory. Flashbacks of barbecues and fun days on holidays might trigger nostalgia but I personally love autumn – such a beautiful time of the year with nature wrapped up in its fire-coloured coat. I also really look forward to cooking and eating hearty, comforting autumnal food with its delicious colour palette and deep flavours. Indeed, some of nature’s greatest treats are at their best and most plentiful during autumn. Mushrooms, pumpkin, game meats, pomegranate, leeks, figs … the list goes on. October is a gourmet’s heaven and for those of us who enjoy wine, it is a great time to open some nice bottles.

Mushrooms, and of course the legendary truffle, are very popular ingredients for their delicate texture and beautiful fragrances. Mushrooms can be enjoyed raw or cooked and depending if they are the heart of the dish or served as a garnish, they can pair well with dry, aromatic white wines, creamy and slightly evolved chardonnay or with some fresh and charismatic reds such as Sangiovese, Nebbiolo or Pinot Noir based wines. If you feel adventurous and wish to venture off-piste, then I suggest exploring varieties such as Nerello Mascalese, Fiano or Roussanne. Try to find examples with a little bit of age to really see them at their best.

As well as making a great natural ornament to carve and present as a spooky face for Halloween, pumpkin also makes some delicious dishes, typically enjoyed at the end of October. Thanks to its sweet and delicate flesh, this cucurbit can be used in both desserts and savoury dishes. When served in risotto or as a filling for pasta, round, fresh and fruity wines are its best partners. In this category, Garganega, unoaked Chardonnay, Friulano and South African Chenin Blanc are some excellent candidates to consider. If you are not in the mood for white, why not experiment with a generous dry rosé from the Southern Rhône Valley, Bandol or Rioja?

“Some of nature’s greatest treats are at their best and most plentiful during autumn.”

Autumn is associated with hunting season and some deliciously flavoursome meats, such as deer, pheasant and wild mallard, become available on the market. Such delicacies call for wines with good structure and intensity as well as aromas and flavours that match those found in nature’s undergrowth and humus: chestnuts, red, black and dried fruits.

Game meats can be classified into two categories: furred and feathered. Feathered meat such as quail, pheasant and woodcock are best served with elegant and delicate red wines while furred game such as deer, hare and stag call for powerful and structured reds. For lighter, more elegant wines, Pinot Noir is definitely a great option but let’s not underestimate the matching potential of wines made from the Trousseau, Mencia and Blaufränkisch varieties that are produced respectively in the Jura region in France, Northwest Spain and in various regions of Austria. With furred meat, I would suggest serving wine with more tannic structure and flesh. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot based wines from Bordeaux, California or British Columbia in Canada are worth keeping in mind. Other grape varieties that perfectly suit these type of meats, especially when stewed with juniper berries and strong aromatic herbs, are Syrah, Tempranillo and Mourvèdre. Look out for Northern Rhône Cornas, Tuscan Syrah and South Australian wines. Tempranillo reaches its pinnacle in the region of Ribera del Duero in Spain while the region of Bandol, in Provence, produces some beautiful Mourvèdre-based wines. These wines require time and patience and should only be opened after at least ten years in the bottle.

Finally, October is a perfect time to take dry sherries and oxidatively aged ports out of the wine cupboard. Amontillado, Palo Cortado and Oloroso sherries can be savoured on their own, of course, but are also great allies to a piece of good quality dark chocolate or, with some furred game, mushroom-based dishes or even foie gras. Aged white port and tawnies, served chilled, are some of the most memorable fortified wines you can come across. Complex, umami, sweet and savoury, they can be enjoyed with North African-influenced cuisine, blue cheese, foie gras or dried fruits, nuts and caramel flavoured desserts. These port wines can be labelled as ten, 20, 30, 40 and (extremely rarely since 2022) 50 years old. These statements refer to the average age of the wines in the bottle and to the organoleptic characteristics of the final blend. When produced from a single harvest and aged for at least seven years, tawny port can be labelled as “Colheita”.

So, this month, pour yourself a glass of one of these beauties, settle back into your favourite armchair, stick on some great music, reach for a good book and enjoy the peace and quiet of October’s evenings – you deserve it! More hectic days are only around the corner. @julie_dupouy

Six bottles to try: