Wines for Fall’s Favourite Meals
It's all about character.
by Erin Henderson
Obviously, favourite foods are personal. Perhaps they’re nostalgic, most likely they’re cultural, and possibly they’re new discoveries found on travels or at local restaurants. But they’re always comforting.
Autumn – and its welcoming braises, roasts, soups, and stews – has a particularly mellow vibe to it. Instead of the vibrant energy of sun-soaked summer, or the crisp, neon white of winter, fall brings a soft light that blurs the edges. The air is still warm but underpinned with cold, and looping smells of distant wood smoke and burning leaves drift in and out of consciousness. Chilly walks, either along a forested trail or rushed from the subway stop, end with the peace of a warm kitchen and aromas of earthy spices and rich sauces, pierced with pungent, cold weather herbs like rosemary and sage.
When it comes to wine pairing, I prefer to work with the structure of the dish, rather than try and match flavours. I also find with new wine enthusiasts, who may still be at a point of, “tastes like wine,” asking them to pick out apple or cherry or mineral notes can be confusing and intimidating.
You may also like: What is Earthy Wine, Anyway?
Instead, I prefer to pair wines based on the character of a dish: is your dinner hearty, creamy, and rich like a pasta carbonara or mushroom soup? Or light, tangy, and sweet like spaghetti and tomato sauce or seafood bouillabaisse? I think knowing weight, acidity, and the general flavour profile of earthy or sweet, offers a clearer path to a better pairing.
I like to contrast rich and creamy dishes with bright and snappy wines with mouth-watering elevated acidity (like adding tart cranberry sauce to earthy turkey, the smack of red fruit brightens the flavour of the meat.) Foods that are robust and heavy, like bone-in roasts or long simmered braises, would decimate those fresh wines, and instead need heartier wines to make the pairing work.
You may also like: Pair Wine Like a Sauce
Look to the fall favourites below as a guide. You might be surprised by some of the alternative dishes. These groupings are not necessarily based on flavours, but on structure: heavy or light, sweet or earthy, creamy or fresh.
While they may surprise you, even more surprising is how they all work with the wines.
Boeuf Bourguignon (similar: lamb curry, Hungarian goulash, shepherd’s/cottage pie, chili)
Flavours: earthy, woodsy
Character: rich, hearty, robust, full
Wine Pairing: Gamay, Pinot Noir, young Rioja (Tempranillo) such as Crianza-level
Why: These reds are light and juicy, with snappy acid and low tannin, and bright, red fruit flavours with a backing of spice and woodsy herb. In Boeuf Bourguignon, and its counterparts, the meat has been cooked to softness, the rich proteins and fats have melted away in a long simmer, and no longer require a wine with fierce tannins to whittle them down to size. The inherently earthy flavours that come from chewy mushrooms, root vegetables, woodsy herbs, and warming spices receive a welcome jolt of energy from the tart acid of the wine and support from the wine’s savoury notes.
Chicken Pot Pie (similar: beef stroganoff, coq au vin, creamy chowders, mushroom risotto, mashed potatoes and gravy)
Flavours: sweet, tangy
Character: creamy, rich, full
Wine Pairing: Chardonnay, dry Chenin Blanc, Rhône whites
Why: This is perhaps the most obvious of pairings, where we match the density of the food with the wine, while complimenting the smooth and buttery profile of the wine with the rich silkiness of the sauces.
You may also like: A Chardonnay for Everyone
Bolognese and meat ragu (similar: lentil dal, mushroom stew, French onion soup)
Flavour: earthy
Character: mid-weight, chewy, robust
Wine Pairing: Frappato, Barbera, Côtes du Rhône
Why: These wines are light and bright, like Pinot Noir, but also have an earthy heft with moderate tannins and spice notes intertwined. Let’s put down our swords for a moment and assume the Bolognese doesn’t contain tomatoes (if yours does, as a friend of mine who lives in Bologna has, more power to you.) Here, I’m thinking of earthy sauce that contains some fat, some protein, but are mostly savoury with low-tone notes, seasoned with cold weather spices and herbs. Again, we’re looking to balance out this robust dinner with a lively wine. Wines that are too bold risk overpowering these dishes. It’s better to stick to mid-weight wines with some freshness.
Chicken cacciatore (similar: butter chicken, Mexican chicken tinga, lamb tagine)
Flavour: tangy, sweet
Character: mid-weight, warming, bright
Wine Pairing: Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, Montepulciano
Why: A classic pairing for tomato-based sauces is Sangiovese, the leading red grape of Tuscany that’s used in Chianti. Sangiovese is generally mid-weight, which matches the body of the dishes. Tomato-edged acidity in the wine compliments the bright, tomato tang in the food, and moderate tannin, works with leaner meats.
Pork braised with prunes (similar: pork tacos al pastor, Greek chicken kozani, turkey and cranberry sauce)
Flavour: sweet, earthy, herbal, spicy
Character: mid-weight, grounding
Wine Pairing: Grenache/GSM blend, Zinfandel, Merlot
Why: Grenache, the leading red grape of the southern Rhône (think Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Côtes du Rhône), but also found in Spain and California, brims with red fruit – cherry, strawberry, pomegranate – as well as warming spices like cloves, black peppercorn and even nutmeg. It has a tendency to be fairly round and soft with moderate acid, making Grenache an excellent bedfellow for many foods. The dishes above, all incorporate a sweet fruit element which matches with the wine, while the lean meats work well with Grenache's softer tannin.
Butternut squash soup (similar: squash stuffed pasta, roasted pumpkin/squash, mac and cheese)
Flavour: sweet, earthy, tangy
Character: rich, full
Wine Pairing: Riesling, Verdejo, Grüner Veltliner, Assyrtiko
Why: There’s a natural sweetness to squash. Not candy sweet, but a sort of mellow, earthy, sweet that loans itself to being cooked with cinnamon, maple syrup, sage, and nutmeg. I piggyback on that sweet inclination, pairing dry, but fruit-forward white wines, with slick acid to gives shape to foods that could very easily jump the shark into flat, one-dimensional heaviness. A sharp wine paired to fulsome carbs offers much needed tension and drama to the plate.
