Whether a subtle whiff of campfire on a cool autumn breeze or the less-than-subtle lure of a pumpkin spice latte, the spicy, savory harbingers of fall spark a shift in the food and wine we crave.
In the dog days of summer, there’s nothing more thirst-quenching than a brisk zippy white or delicate rosé. But as cooler weather sets in and those heartier, often meatier dishes return to our dinner tables, you may long for wines with a bit more oomph — richer flavors and textures, but also added weight and grip.
As autumn approaches, “It’s the weight of wine that changes the most,” says Jamie McLennan, partner and beverage director of Rootstock Wine & Beer Bar in Humboldt Park. “People start looking for deeper, bolder wines; wines that are a bit warmer and more opulent,” he says, but also structured with components “like tannins and acidity.”
Cooler weather is often associated with an automatic switch to red wine. But white wines with enough texture and breadth can ease beautifully into the autumn months.
Weightier white wines — oak-aged chardonnay and pinot blanc — or Rhone-style blends of grenache blanc, roussanne, marsanne or viognier are all classic examples. Similarly, full-bodied, intensely fruity whites from warmer climates can lend a welcome shock of sunshine on dreary autumn days.
“Autumn in Chicago actually feels like two seasons,” says Tia Barrett, beverage director at Esmé, a fine dining restaurant in Lincoln Park. In the earliest days of fall, “we’re just not ready to let summer go, so you still want those bright, high-acid wines.”
Chenin blanc is “a wine that people don’t talk enough about,” Barrett says, but it offers a gravity and texture that’s ideal for transitional September days. Especially when it’s made in warmer-climate South Africa, chenin blanc has an intensity of fruit “balanced by acidity and minerality,” Barrett says.
By October, Barrett says, “when that hard switch to fall is obvious,” grenache blanc is another “underrated grape” she reaches for often. Most widely associated with the southern Rhone in France, but also grown successfully in Spain or California, grenache blanc offers a plushness of yellow fruit — think pears or grapefruit — along with a subtle herbaceousness of fennel or sage that lends freshness to dishes like fish or poultry bathed in buttery sauces, or roasted root vegetables.
Grenache blanc “is not a summer white; it’s more of a fall or winter white to me,” Barrett says. “It has body and structure, but it’s not an oak bomb.”
Badenhorst 2021 Secateurs Swartland chenin blanc: Dry in style, yet lush and honeyed in texture, Barrett recommends this South African chenin sourced from unirrigated bush vines for its accessibility and wide distribution. $15.99 at Binny’s. Locations vary, binnys.com
Ridge 2020 Adelaida Vineyard Paso Robles grenache blanc: Barrett serves this California grenache blanc by the glass at Esmé. “Everything that Ridge makes is delightful,” Barrett says, but their grenache blanc is an unexpected surprise for many of her guests. $31.99 at Vin Chicago. 1826 N. Elston Ave., 773-489-3454; 1350 Old Skokie Road, Highland Park; 847-831-1049; 311 E. Main St., Barrington; 847-277-0033; vinchicago.com
Paul Jaboulet Aîné 2020 Parallèle 45 Côtes du Rhône blanc: An accessibly priced introduction to the classic Rhone white blend, this silky dry white balances the fleshiness of grenache blanc and viognier with the bitter-almond grip of marsanne and freshness of bourboulenc. $13.99 at Binny’s. Locations vary, binnys.com
For most Americans, rosé is a strictly seasonal wine, best enjoyed at pool parties or beneath an umbrella at the beach. But beyond the sea of pale-pink, often unremarkable summer rosés, there are a host of complex, charismatic rosés that straddle the lines between white and red.
The often shockingly sunset-hued rosés of southern France’s Tavel or Bandol are classic examples of year-round rosés. Oak-aged Spanish rosados from Rioja and the bevy of deeply concentrated, often savory rosatos of Italy are ideal choices too.
McLennan is particularly fond of the Sicilian rosato from the producer Lamoresca. “It’s a darker specimen of rosé,” says McLennan, “a bit more serious but not overly tannic. It has weight but also the freshness and aromatics of zibibbo (also known as muscat) along with the grip of nero d’Avola and the bright acidity of frappato.”
Lamoresca 2020 Sicily rosato: A touch of zibibbo fermented on its skins lends grip and tannin to old-vine nero d’Avola and frappato grapes in this unfiltered, minimally sulfured rosé from Campania. $31.90 at Eataly Chicago. 43 E. Ohio St., 312-521-8700, chicago.eatalyvino.com
Château d’Aqueria 2021 Tavel rosé: Adored by centuries of French royalty and intellectuals like Honoré de Balzac and Ernest Hemingway, Tavel is known as the king of rosé. Château d’Aqueria’s is consistently excellent with a richness of cherries balanced by tannin and spice. $17.99 at Binny’s. Locations vary, binnys.com
As chilly fall evenings call for slow-cooked meats, smoky charcuterie or brothy bean dishes, red wines structured with tannin or speckled with spice, earth or bramble are particularly appealing.
On the lighter side, the freshly balanced, subtly earthen reds of France’s Loire Valley, most famously varieties like cabernet franc and gamay, but also less-recognized varieties like pineau d’Aunis, can lend acidity and freshness to hearty autumn fare.
“Once the tomatoes, peas and other produce are no longer in season, our chefs start building a menu that’s more protein heavy — richer pork dishes, tartares or rillettes,” McLennan says. They’re foods that beg for the acidity of a pineau d’Aunis, he says. “It has a cool, almost peppery freshness and bright-fruited character that pairs well with these smokier, richer foods.”
For those seeking the voluptuousness and warmth of a fuller-bodied red, grenache, syrah or carignan from the Rhone Valley, Provence or Languedoc Roussillon in France, as well as New World versions from California, Washington or Australia, are excellent autumn picks.
For McLennan, autumn cooking inspires wines accented with “tertiary components,” those savory, sometimes “mushroomy complexities” of earth or animal derived from maturation. “Carignan particularly has this feral quality, like an inherently meaty, irony flavor that I love,” he says.
By contrast, Barrett is drawn to the “accessibility and approachability” of New World syrah, especially shiraz from the Barossa Valley. With their “soft fruit and baking spices” they’re wines that “are just so comforting, you don’t want to let them go,” she says.
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Bernard Baudry 2020 Les Granges Chinon cabernet franc: This pure-fruited red from a standout Loire producer highlights crisp red fruit shaded with hints of green herb and violet. It’s a wine that’s delightful served slightly chilled alongside charcuterie or with pizza. $23.99 at Perman Wine. 1167 N. Howe St., 312-255-8990, permanwine.com
Renaud Guettier La Grapperie 2019 L’Enchateresse pineau d’Aunis: Unlike “lighter and brighter expressions of pineau d’Aunis, this is a weightier, more extracted style,” that’s particularly well suited to the richness and earthiness of autumn dishes, McLennan says. $51 at Red & White. 1861 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-486-4769, red-white-wines-chicago.myshopify.com
Matthieu Barret 2020 Petit Ours Côtes du Rhône: Most Côtes du Rhone wines are grenache-based blends. This rare varietal-syrah from one of the northern Rhône’s most talked-about producers highlights bright, juicy blackberry flavor against a smoky, peppery perfume. $23.99 at Craft Beer Temple. 3173 N. Elston Ave., 773-754-0907, craftbeertemple.com
Domaine Leon Barral 2016 Faugères: “I tasted this for the first time maybe 20 years ago, and it blew my mind,” McLennan says about this blend of carignan, grenache and cinsault. “I always wait until October to open a bottle of it,” he says. $60 at Red & White. 1861 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-486-4769, red-white-wines-chicago.myshopify.com
Tait 2019 Border Crossing McLaren Vale shiraz: “I love shiraz, especially from Barossa,” says Barrett, and this bottling is one where “if you want to start with red and end in red, it’s perfect through the entire progression of the meal.” $23.99 at wine.com
Anna Lee Iijima is a freelance writer.
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