Wine Before Winter Comes – A Guide to Autumn Drinking

British Autumn is a divisive time. For some, the 5 o’clock sunsets and cold blasts are an eye-watering reminder of the lack of Summer, whereas others relish the cosy nights in and the ushering in of the festive period. For the wine drinkers among us, autumn also represents a shift away from the crisp, fair-weather whites enjoyed when the sun is shining, and often leads us to crave something more in tune with the sentiments of the season—which of course must pair well with those hearty dishes that keep us warm through those cold, grey nights. Through many conversations with friends and industry workers alike, I have compiled a list of a few of my favourite wines to drink at this time of year, a veritable wine lover’s survival guide to getting through to Christmas!

Cabané Langhe Rosso – £18.50 from The Market Cellar Door

A trip to Italy via the Covered Market to start off the list, with a Cabernet Sauvignon and Nebbiolo blend from the Asti region. I was recommended this bottle by the very helpful staff who indulged my questions about their preferences for autumnal drinking and listened with an impressive degree of decorum as I rambled on about my love of Italian reds. Fortuitously, this bottle had been selling well for them recently, and thus the recommendation was somewhat of an obvious one. I decided to crack it open after a day filled with walking around in conditions perhaps most accurately described by a good friend as “proper cold”, and enjoyed it with some cheese I had picked up earlier in the week. Immediately those notes of cherry, plum, and the spice of the oak felt perfectly placed in a season where mulled wine starts to re-emerge. There is a pleasant but not overpowering sense of oak, with tobacco and vanilla coming through on the nose, but the fruitiness steals the show here and makes for a drinking experience that is warming and hearty but also palatable on its own. For food pairing options, any sort of pasta with rich ragù and mountains of parmesan would be a perfect match!

 

Penfolds Koonunga Hills Shiraz – £12 from Tesco

A bolder, punchier offering from Down Under! Penfolds is an impressive name in the world of wine, being one of Australia’s oldest producers, with bottles bearing the name of the family regularly boasting price tags in the hundreds and thousands of pounds. However, regardless of what the alarming popularity of Gail’s in this city might tell you, £500 for a bottle of Penfolds Grange is probably a little over what the average student aims to pay for a bottle of wine. This relatively budget-friendly option from Tesco allows an insight into what makes these wines so sought-after, without breaking the bank. Powerful chocolate and spice notes dominate here, with just enough black fruit to stand up to the oaky flavours,  the signature Shiraz tannins having been softened by the barrel and a touch of bottle-ageing. The very full-bodied nature of South Australian Shiraz lends itself well to heavier meat dishes, with comforting Sunday roasts being a favourite of mine when pairing such a bottle. The warmth of the spice here means that it is plenty enjoyable on its own however, especially during this time of year after a day of trudging around in the cold and gloom.

Porta 6 – £9 from Tesco

A tried and tested favourite, with its popularity stemming from a raving review on Saturday Kitchen Live in 2020, Porta 6 is a slightly softer blended red from Portugal featuring the, in my opinion, underrated Touriga Nacional grape. Porta 6 is a no-brainer bottle for me when coming home from a long day with very little left in the tank, or if rushing out to meet someone with little time to spend deliberating the relative merits and drawbacks of Merlot and Malbec, it is often a bottle that I’ll grab knowing I needn’t worry about it being up to scratch. Fresh, fruity notes of cherry and raspberry with a hint of plum give this wine a lighter appeal while retaining a degree of intrigue and complexity with more subtle dried fruits undertones – a wine perhaps for remembering the warm spells of late August and early September. That is not to say that this wine has no place among autumnal affairs though, with the slightly lighter aspect of this bottle making it more suited for a pork or poultry dish, perhaps with some soft cheese for dessert. Otherwise, I would recommend this as a perfect crowd-pleaser, dinner parties and other such intimate gatherings are wonderful settings in which to let this picking shine.

Bodegas Mateos Letargo Rioja Tempranillo – £10.58 from Oxford Wine Company

Another bottle from the Iberian Peninsula, this time across the border in Spain, this juicy, ripe Rioja is a superb balance between enticing fruity notes and those darker, more complex notes of dried fruits and liquorice that make Rioja such a popular style. This particular bottle is very reasonably priced for the complexity of flavours offered within, and with the Oxford Wine Company’s current “Feliz Rioja” sale, the price is down from the regular £11.75. In my discussions with friends and colleagues alike, Rioja was a name that was always on the tip of the tongue when the subject of autumnal wine was broached; the flavours and fullness of the wine combined with ripe, punchy tannins make it comforting and warming in a way that, at least to me, few other wines are. Given that this style is a little lighter than the oak-heavy Reserva Riojas, tomato-based dishes are a wonderful complement to bring out the fruitiness of the wine, but it will go just as well with grilled meats if given the opportunity.

A quick search on the Internet will reveal many lists similar to this, perhaps even recommending similar styles or pairings to the ideas that I express here, yet this does not by any means make the issue of seasonal drinking an objective issue. Wine is about taste and general enjoyment, two things that take many different forms for different people. If your preference is for a full-bodied, no-nonsense Chardonnay at this time of year, then that is absolutely what should be in your fridge. However, I implore you to consider the reasons why I love these wines so much for this time of year, when the desire for a cosy night in with some hearty food is stronger than ever.