Wine Observed

Wine Observed: Wines for Fall

by Marty Ramsburg

One of the wonderful thing about wines is that there are so many choices—from the light-bodied, crisp wines like Vinho Verde, Picpoul and a good, Provencal Rosé to full-bodied, sometimes tannic reds like Malbec, Grenache or Nebbiolo. A decision of what to open can be paralyzing in context of so many good choices. Fortunately, the calendar helps narrow our range. As we move from the long, warm days of summer, with its fresh, often acidic foods (berries, tomatoes) that pair beautifully with those more acidic, refreshing whites, we turn toward using the oven again, roasting and baking, creating meals that are heavier, denser, with flavors ranging from savory to sweet. These call for different wines. Whether a white drinker or a reds-only lover, there are wines of the season to enjoy. Here are our recommendations:

Whites
Chenin Blanc
I do love Chenin Blanc from the Loire, and it is a perfect choice for many fall meals. It is grown in many areas, from the Loire Valley east of Paris to South Africa and California. Its high acidity makes it a candidate to be produced in a range of styles, from fully-dry and minerally (sec) to dessert  and honeyed (moelleux or doux) to sparkling. I love them all.

The best known of the Loire Valley appellations for Chenin Blanc are Vouvray and Savennieres. The grape has aromas and flavors of pear, quince and honey. It has gorgeous acidity and great mineral notes on the finish. It has good body, which makes it an apt pairing for heavier fish (tuna, swordfish, even crab), white meats (pork or roasted chicken), or sweet potato or butternut squash soup. Its lively acidity lifts it on the finish and readies your palate for the next bite. This is a wonderful white to include at the Thanksgiving table, with its range of flavors from savory to sweet.

Viognier
Another rich white grape, Viognier, has a soft, round mouthfeel and, in the Northern Rhone from where it originates, very little acidity. It is a very aromatic wine, reminiscent honeysuckle, peonies, and apricot. Now produced around the world, including the US, Australia and Argentina, Viogniers from the New World tend to have more acidity though they still have less than many white varietals. A full-bodied white, Viognier can pair nicely with foods like lobster, baked brie topped with apricot or pear chutney, sweeter Indian curries, pork tenderloin, corn chowder or other hearty, creamy soups.

Reds
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is such a perfect fall wine. It has fruit (usually cherry) and is earthy, but in a particularly fall way—dried leaves, forest floor, truffles, a hint of woodsmoke, yet bright, like a horizon of foliage. It’s like an October walk in Vermont in your glass. Like many grapes with which we are familiar, we know Pinot Noir because of its French iteration (Burgundy), which has been emulated around the world, from Oregon and California to New Zealand and now Argentina. Style varies with the length of the growing season, soil composition, altitude and orientation, and a host of other influences. Burgundies tend to be medium-bodied with more foresty tones while California and Oregon Pinots have greater weight and more pronounced fruit. In any case, they provide a lovely wine to enjoy with Thanksgiving’s turkey, savory stuffing, chestnuts and brussel sprouts and other roasted root vegetables. It also pairs well with salmon, white meats or mushroom dishes.

Cotes du Rhones
This is always on of my re-entries to red in the fall. From the western side of Provence along the Rhone, Cotes du Rhones are usually blends based on Grenache, the principal red grape grown in the area. But,…there are also Cotes du Rhones made from 100% Syrah. One fun wine experiment that we sometimes do with the wine-curious/adventuresome customer is send them away with three different Cotes du Rhones, running the gamit from mostly Grenache with a splash of Syrah to a 100% Syrah. There is tremendous range among these wines, but here are some common qualities—full-bodied, soft, great fruit—from strawberry to raspberry, often an herbal finish,
along the lines of rosemary and thyme.

Cotes du Rhones are comfort wines for me. They work well by the fire with friends or a good book, a plate of aged cheese with some crusty bread nearby. They are a great default wine since just about everyone likes or even loves them. For food complemets, think comfort foods: casseroles, stews, roasted meats. We’ve found them a great accompaniment to thin, crisp-crusted pizzas with a red sauce with oregano, thyme and garnished with gorgonzola.

Dessert: Vermont’s Eden Ice Cider
We don’t usually name brands when making these seasonal suggestions, but if you have not yet tried this incredible dessert wine, you should! Eden Ice Ciders are made from traditional and heirloom apples grown in Vermont, including from Dummerston’s Scott Farm and Champlain Orchards in Shoreham, then made into cider by Eleanor and Albert Leger.

Ice Ciders are more dessert wine than hard cider. Once the juice is made to cider, it is frozen, then slowly thawed. The water content stays frozen longer than the juice,  allowing Albert and Eleanor to pour off a more concentrated cider which they then ferment. The result is remarkable—100% apple, no additional sweetners or flavorings, beautiful apple, pear, and honey flavors with great acidity to balance the sweetness and, most importantly, 100% delicious.

Eden produced its first vintage of ice cider only 3+ years ago. The Calville Blend uses MacIntosh, Empire, Russet, Ashmead Kernel and Claville Blanc apples. It  has aromas of ripe apple, pear and caramel. Last year, Eden added two single varietal ice ciders to their repertoire—one from Honeycrisp and one from Northern Spy, the latter aged for nearly 2 years in French oak barrels. All of the ciders pair perfectly with maple crème brulé, bread puddings, apple cakes, pear or apple frangipane, pear and gorgonzola tart, Vermont Blue Cheeses (especially Green Mountain Blue’s Boucher Blue or Jasper Hill Farm’s Bayley Hazen Blue) or rich Cheddars like Cabot’s Clothebound.
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Marty Ramsburg is co-owner with Frank Larkin of Windham Wines, one of Vermont’s premier wine and beer retailers. Next door is their Wine Gallery, a unique venue for special events and guided wine and beer tastings. 802 246-6400 Tues-Sat, 11-7p, 30-36 Main Street, Brattleboro, Windhamwines.com.