Autumn Wine Pairings - Flagship Wines
Autumnal wines | Flagship wines
Autumn is a season full of spectacular colours of yellows, oranges and reds in our gardens and countryside though the days are shorter with cool temperatures, wet rainy days interspersed with breathtakingly fresh sunny days with blue skies. The seasonal climate is also reflected in our eating habits and thus wine choices. Warming soups, casseroles, roast vegetables, notably root vegetables take the place of salads and barbecues.
In turn, these foods need fuller flavoured warming wines to accompany them. Soups come into their own on cooler days and there are some ideal pairings. Perhaps you might like to try some of the chunky vegetable soups with a fruity Côtes du Rhône such as the great value Reserve de l’Abbe from the South of France or if it’s a creamy vegetable or chicken soup try a more unusual pairing with a South African Roussanne that has a full soft fruity mouthfeel from a producer like Painted Wolf.
Another lovely combination is soup and sherry – an Amontillado or dry Oloroso adds flavour and is delicious to drink with it. Don’t forget Chardonnay: try an Argentinian Chardonnay such as the Tapiz: full of stylish crisp lightly oak ripe fruit adding a little more flavour as a great match to creamy vegetable soups etc.
Casseroles, full of robust flavours, demand wines with similar characteristics to match them such as Domaine des Tourelles Lebanese Cinsaults and Carignans, Los Poetas Libertad, an Argentinian Malbec blend or the Rive Barbera from Piemonte full of cherries and spice. Oaky white Rioja such as the Viejas Vinas from Luis Canas is also a great match to full flavoured dishes. On the other hand, pasta sauces with garlic and tomatoes or a chilli con carne go best with Italian reds the little-known Col di Sasso Tuscan red if you want to try an alternative to classic Montepulciano.
For a roast chicken dinner, we are a fan of the often-overlooked wines of Beaujolais, especially the fuller styles such as Brouilly from Ch de la Terriere.
There’s lots of flavours out there, so why not have a go at matching your favourite autumnal soup or casserole recipe with some new wine flavours.
Three Autumn wine favourites from Flagship Wines;
Reserve de l’Abbe Cotes du Rhone - £8.50
Which is a fruity, easy drinking red made from Grenache Syrah and Cinsault full of spicy blackcurrant and strawberry fruit
Luis Canas Vinas Viejas Rioja - £14.39
Which is fresh and lively with citrus hints and elegant with floral notes and fruity slightly hazelnutty flavours.
Domaine des Tourelles Cinsault - £18.35
Which has an exotic mix of ripe fig, bright red cherry and plum fruit with star anise spice, and ripe red fruit characters, alongside lively fig and date notes.
– Flagship Wines