It’s getting colder. The nights are getting longer. Clearly,
you need to start drinking more wine.
With that snap in the air, you can finally return to some of
those richer pours you haven’t had in a while. “As soon as you hit September
1st, it doesn’t matter if it’s 80 degrees out; everyone’s in boots and wearing
eggplant and brown, ready to jump into the next season,” says Kerri Platt,
owner of The Wine Bottega (341 Hanover Street, Boston,
617.227.6607). “Same thing goes for wine. Even on a day that’s still warm,
people come in looking for a big, full red, missing the wine they didn’t drink
all summer.”
And with good reason. Fall is the über-season for drinking wine.
But what makes a wine particularly appropriate for autumn? There are several
factors, including the release date, the flavor profile, the temperature it’s
served at, and the food it’s paired with. That means ’tis the season for
substantial whites that hold their own with hearty fall menus and reds that are
robust but not beastly. Save the real brutes for after you come home from a
long commute through half-frozen puddles of car-exhaust-colored slush.
In the Northern Hemisphere, this is the time of year in which
grapes ripen and are picked to become the next vintage. Wines from previous
years are often released at the same time, so while the new grapes are pressed,
the old ones reemerge in fermented form. Fall is also when distributors hold
the most tastings, and it’s therefore the time when your local wine shop or
restaurant gets fresh ideas for the season.
And of course, let’s not forget our summer drink of choice, rosé.
Rosé saw an outpouring of affection in recent months, but it is by no means
limited to warm-weather sipping. In fact, a substantial rosé can be perfect for
this time of year. Being neither red nor white, rosé embodies transition, just
like fall.
“For Thanksgiving, I always want to have rosé,” says Jennifer
Ziskin, co-owner and sommelier for La Morra (48 Boylston
Street, Brookline Village, 617.739.0007). “A bigger rosé, one that’s a little
more round, with more body to it.” Among her favorites are Masi Campofiorin
Ripasso ($9 a glass, $36 per bottle) and Tormaresca Neprica ($8 a glass, $30
per bottle).
Platt likes to focus on classic Italian reds like the “island
wines” of Sicily and Sardinia as well as wines from Piedmont and Tuscany. She
also recommends Barbera, which she describes as having “this juicy vibrancy
that’s still fresh but starting to head into that richer, fuller, style.” She
recommends the 2005 Mattei Barbera Colli Tortonesi from Piedmont, a steal at
just $15 a bottle.
At Sonsie (327 Newbury Street, Boston,
617.351.2500), sommelier Johna Willis notes that palates change as quickly as
the weather. “People switch to reds, especially interesting ones like malbecs
or some of the Spanish reds. When the weather’s still nice, you can also do
pinot.” She adds that the Truchard Syrah ($12 a glass, $48 per bottle), which
is slightly dense but still fruity, pairs well with the fig and prosciutto
pizza on Sonsie’s new seasonal menu.
Grapes are just one of the many crops experiencing their peak,
and there are ample opportunities for complementary food and wine pairings.
“It’s time to put more cheese back in your diet, more pasta. Bathing suit
season is over,” says Platt. She also observes that fall is an excellent time
for a little introspection in the form of some meditative sipping.
“Because it’s the harvest season, my mind turns to organic and
biodynamic wine. Not in a trying-to-save-the-world kind of way, but in fall,
you start to appreciate what’s around you, especially in New England with the
leaves changing. I prefer letting the grapes and the wine tell their own story,
and if the farming is done correctly, it’s an interesting story to tell.”
When we asked our sommeliers if there was anything they’re saving
for really cold weather, they almost unanimously answered “Amarone,” which is
considered the quintessential wine for sipping by the fire.
“That or whisky,” added Platt.
