As summer disappears and temperatures begin to drop, wine drinkers look for more weight, more depth, and more complexity in their glass. This is, in part, to temper the chill in the air, but it also means wines that will better pair with the food of the season. Autumn leads to more roasting, smoking, stews, and heavier desserts. It also means more cooking over coals, hanging out on the deck, and time spent around open fire.
Almost all red wines fit naturally into the seasonal shift. If you stick strictly to white wines, the lean, crisp whites and rosés that were a mainstay of the beach and poolside won’t feel as substantial as wines with more weight and texture. Look to flavors that tend toward stone fruits and tropical fruits, as opposed to just citrus notes.
Here are some new locally produced wines suited to your autumn tailgate, barbecue, or firepit.
The 2020 Keswick Vineyards Rives White is a blend of pinot gris and chardonnay that has lighter citrus fruit notes combined with deeper flavors of white peaches and apricots. The fruit is complemented nicely by hints of vanilla. A medium weight on the palate yields easily to a crisp, acidic finish, and it would be a perfect pairing with roasted chicken or a root vegetable gratin.
The 2019 Gabriele Rausse Winery Roussanne is produced from 100 percent Virginia-grown roussanne grapes, an unusual variety for the state that is not widely known or planted. Rausse’s European roots are obvious here. After fermentation is complete, 75 percent of the wine is aged in French oak barrels and 25 percent is aged in Italian terracotta amphorae for one year. The resulting wine has an elegant floral nose that hints at orange blossoms, a palate that is broad and full, with flavors of tangerine and vanilla that are almost reminiscent of a baked pastry. It finishes without sweetness and just a hint of textural astringency. Try this with a pork roast, smoked turkey, or roasted sweet potatoes.
When the temperatures are too high, even dedicated red wine drinkers have a hard time thinking about consuming big-bodied tannic wines. So, the transition into autumn is an exciting time because it’s a chance to bring out wines with more flavor and complexity. In Virginia, as in other parts of the world, varieties such as petit verdot and tannat are often utilized in blends with other red grapes to achieve deeply colored, structured, and boldly flavored wines.
The 2017 Hark Vineyards Spark is a red blend of cabernet franc, merlot, and petit verdot that was aged in oak barrels for 20 months. Deeply garnet colored, the nose is full of sweet tobacco, black fruit, and vanilla. The taste follows the aromas, with black plum and blackberries combining with smoke, leather, and baking spices. While this has enough structure that it should age well, it also would pair well now with a steak, a smoked brisket, or a venison stew.
In addition to being used in blends, petit verdot and tannat are also being made in Virginia as single varietal wines. The 2017 Stinson Vineyards Tannat is an outstanding example of this. While tannat is a grape that brings very prominent tannins, Stinson has produced a version that reveals a lifted and elegant fruit structure of cherry and plum on top of those tannins. Aged 27 months in oak, there are also flavors of smoke, tobacco, and earth that add complexity and weight. The combination of fruit with a smoky, earthy backbone makes this a great match for barbecue, smoked sausage, or a spicy black bean soup.
Wine as an option during, or even in place of, the dessert course is often overlooked. While some may tend toward harder spirits like bourbon or brandy around a fire, an interesting option might be the many dessert wines produced by adding brandy to wine. This is an old and traditional winemaking technique that stops fermentation to maintain sweetness, and at the same time fortifies the wine (increases alcohol) to give it body and concentration.
The Afton Mountain Vineyards VDN (non-vintage) takes its name from the vin doux naturel style of winemaking that originated in southern France. Although these wines are sweet, the process of making them does not involve added sugar. Instead, brandy is added to grapes to stop fermentation, preventing the yeast from converting all the sugar from the grapes into alcohol and thus leaving residual sweetness in the wine. The Afton version comes in at 20 percent alcohol and is made from a blend of malbec and tannat grapes. It is full of deep plum and berry flavors combined with a pleasant sweetness. Try it paired with a blackberry cobbler, caramel-pecan pie, or anything chocolate.
Fall for these local bottlings
2020 Keswick Vineyards Rives White Blend
$27.95 for a 750ml bottle
keswickvineyards.com
2019 Gabriele Rausse Winery Roussanne
$26 for a 750ml bottle
gabrieleraussewinery.com
2017 Hark Vineyards Spark Red Blend
$42 for a 750ml bottle
harkvineyards.com
2017 Stinson Vineyards Tannat
$37.99 for a 750ml bottle
stinsonvineyards.com
Afton Mountain Vineyards VDN (non-vintage)
$32 for a 325ml bottle
aftonmountainvineyards.com