These Wines Are The Perfect Pairing For Hearty Fall Meals
Whether it’s the sudden celebration of everything pumpkin spice, or the findings of dozens of official and unofficial surveys, a quick jaunt through the interwebs tells us one thing: Fall is everyone’s favorite season. There’s just something about the promise of holiday season festivities, or the changing colors outside, or getting to revive all those cozy cowl-neck sweaters you had shoved to the back of the closet back in June, that gets people excited. For us, it’s the changeover from light, fresh fare and backyard grilling, to hearty, slow-cooked stews, braised dishes, and the rich, stick-to-your-ribs cooking that the colder months bring. Oh, and the wines that go with it. Here are our top tips for selecting and sipping the best wines to go with cold weather cuisine.
There’s red wine and then there’s RED WINE. While we all love to sip red year-round, there are certain reds that instantly make us want to light a fire, thrown on a vintage jazz album, and curl up with a big bowl of something hot and delicious. These are the reds we want to pair with those hearty braised dishes, stewed meats, game, hard cheeses, and 1000-calorie-per-serving casseroles. Choose a wine with some tannin — those things in wine that come from the skins, seeds, and stems of the grape, and give you that mouth-drying, grippy sensation on the palate; or, seek out wines with notes of dried or stewed fruits, savory elements like green olive and pepper, spices like cardamom and clove, or smoky, earthy aromas to balance out the rich and complex flavors of these heavier dishes.
Viader “Black Label,” Napa Valley, CA, $150: Go ahead. Treat yourself. You deserve it. And we promise this wine will not disappoint. A heady blend of estate-grown Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Malbec, it’s got concentrated blue and black fruit, sweet and savory spices like nutmeg, black pepper, and anise, and a masculine saddle leather note that ultimately leads to a velvety finish…when you finally get there, that is — those flavors go on for days.