Uffda, do I miss summer or what? I miss the warm weather, the pink of sunburned skin and the rich outline of mountain ranges against a clear blue sky. Alas, fall has come with her burnt oranges, rain drops and chilly evenings. As a New Yorker, surrounded by New Englanders, I should love fall - the leaves are changing, it's appropriate to binge Gilmore Girls again, all my sweaters are out of storage - but, the transition is hard for me.
To ease the way, I turn to books and wine! I won't bore you with my book selections, and actually I've been a terribly awful picker lately (if you have any recommendations, please send them my way)... but wine, wine I can talk about.
I look for a few things in "fall wines" - I still want acidity, and a medium body, and I'm not quite ready to give up on chilled reds. I do want richer flavors - nutty, oak-kissed whites, and peppery, lightly smoky reds. I want them to be enjoyable on their own but also pair well with the food I'm suddenly eating - braised beef ragus, cozy cassoulets, soup and more soup.
A few from our shop I'm obsessing over:
Madson Wines 'Vin Jaune' Chardonnay, $35
This white was inspired by the wines of the Jura – rich, nutty and oxidized Chardonnays and Savagnins. This wine has all that while maintaining an energetic acidity that made my mouth water. Off and on, I feature this wine on our menu - I just want to share it with the world!
Bambinuto Greco di Tufo, $28
This wine is a bit of a chameleon. At first, tons of grapefruit and blood orange zest... but then a full body with apricot and ginger. An a salty minerality that reminds me of oysters. I kept going back to the glass, and I think you will too.
Cerminara Cirò Rosato, $25
Rosé all day, rosé all year. I am slowly loosening my grip on the dry, river water, mineral rosés of July and August and embracing the textured, aromatic rosés of autumn. This wine has lovely notes of tart raspberry and fresh cut rosemary. It is asking to be paired with calabrian chili + pizza.
Frédéric Lornet Ploussard, $29
My actual tasting note on this wine is "good golly if fall were a wine"... I never say good golly, so I can only imagine I was simply at a loss for words. It is light on its feet, with bright cherry and notes of ginger and mountain air.
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