10 Great Wines for Your Favourite Fall Dinners

At the time of this writing, Erin is sitting on the couch, blanket over her lap, while the single-digit temps outside chill the air. A snowstorm is threatening parts of Ontario, while the west coast is being pelted with rain.

Unlike many of the grumblings we’re hearing about snow, cold weather and the quickly approaching winter, we say Bring It On! Well, let us clarify: admittedly we don’t love the snappy chill that rattles widows, or the driving rain that slaps greying sidewalks, but we do love rosy cheeks flushed from the outside, comfy sweaters and big, knitted scarves. We also really, really love spending frosty weekend afternoons preparing comforting dinners for friends and family or coming to a warm home that smells of slow roasting foods, paired to hearty glasses of wine.

Indeed, fall is our favourite season for eating and drinking. And with this list for incredible autumn food and wine, we can’t imagine anyone wouldn’t love it as much as us.

Truffle Risotto & Barbaresco

Earthy, indulgent black truffles come into season in the summer in Italy, and continue into the fall, while the more elusive, and therefore far more prized, white truffles, start to rear their aromatic little heads in October and November in Piedmont. These indulgent fungi aren’t cheap, but luckily a little goes a long way and, in our mind, truffled risotto (like this one from Epicurious) is one of the best ways to enjoy them, as the rice offers a creamy, yet neutral backdrop to let the pungent, earthiness of the truffle shine.

If truffles are hard to find in your area, or are a little outside your budget, swap them for deliciously meaty mix of wild mushrooms for a fall treat.

Barbaresco, a red wine from Piedmont made from the Nebbiolo grape, is a classic pairing here, as the wines earthy characteristics match the intriguing earthy notes of the mushroom.

Try: Produttori del Barbaresco Piedmont, Italy 2009
$41.95 Vintages 708826
Bright, fresh and powerful with sticky tannins and earthy flavours of clay, wet soil, clove, fresh red cherry and Maraschino cherry flavours.

Macaroni and Cheese & Chardonnay

Rich, creamy, cheesy and hearty. Does it get any better than classic mac and cheese? Don’t worry about all the kilometres you’ll need to log tomorrow on the treadmill just to burn it off – that’s why big sweaters are a mandatory part of any foodie’s fall uniform.

Some will play around with adding butternut squash to the pasta, some will toss in double smoked bacon, others will attempt a healthy dish by mixing in tomatoes or peas (but really, who are you kidding?), we just go for this recipe of straight-up pasta, cheese and cream with a buttery, toasted breadcrumb topping (we don’t like to skimp on carbs if we don’t have to).

With this nap-inducing favourite, we opt for an equally rich and luscious Chardonnay as the wine has both the weight and flavours to stand up to the pasta.

Try: Kim Crawford Small Parcels “Wild Grace” Chardonnay, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand 2013
$24.95 Vintages 378604
Toasty, smokey and rich with aromas and flavours of grilled pineapple, mango, banana and vanilla.

Smokey roast Brussels sprouts & Gamay

Oh, calm down.

We can hear you freaking out, “wine doesn’t go with Brussels sprouts! It can’t be done!” Bollocks.

These are not your mama’s limp, boiled, sulphury sprouts. Nope, these are caramelized, and sweet, with smokey notes from bacon and paprika spice. In short, they’re crazy-good. (Get the recipe here).

When it comes to pairing wine with food, look to the strongest flavours in the dish. In this particular case (ignoring the fact that you’re probably going to serve the Brussels sprouts as a side to something else), the strongest flavours here are smoke from the bacon and spice and sweet char from the caramelization. For that we pick a fruity, bright Gamay, either a Beaujolais Cru or something homegrown from Ontario, as the red fruit flavours highlight the smokey-saltiness of bacon and spice. Also the low tannin and fresh acidity don’t fight with any green herbaceous flavours lingering from the sprouts.

Try: Fielding Estate Winery Gamay, VQA Niagara Peninsula, 2013
$18.15 fielding.com
Bright and and easy going with smoke, bay leaf, floral, red cherry, and peppercorn with a tart cran-pomegranate finish.

Butternut Squash Soup & Riesling

This is likely the one fall dish we wait for all year. As soon as the weather gets a slight nip in the air, we’re breaking out the butternut and whipping up some creamy, sweet soup. While there’s a bazillion recipes out there and everyone has their favourite, ours melts in some tangy blue cheese for a bit of bite.

You could easily opt for a Chardonnay here if you want to echo the weight and creaminess of the soul-nourishing soup, but we like off dry Riesling as the wine’s pinpoint acidity cuts the richness while the fruity sweetness sets off the the salty cheese while complimenting the natural sweetness of the squash.

Try: Redstone Winery “Limestone Vineyard South” Riesling, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara 2012
$18.95 Vintages 381251
Just slightly off dry with appealing clementine, white peach and lime citrus notes.

Braised short ribs & Cabernet Sauvignon

With braised beef you can pretty much pair any red and get away with it. If you really want to get your inner sommelier on, look to the herbs and other flavourings of the dish to pair something exceptional. As we mentioned in a Sunday Supper in September, we paired our braised beef to Cabernet Franc from Niagara and it worked well, but you can also just as easily go for a Cabernet Sauvignon.

Try: Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County, California 2012
$33.95 Vintages 186171
Elegance yet powerful with black cherry, red raspberry, black licorice, and a subtle cedar note.

Roast Cauliflower & Soave

Cauliflower is simultaneously mild, sweet and earthy and loans itself to a wide variety of pairings. Whether you’re speckling it with Indian flavourings like curry and cumin (a personal fave) or roasting it with parmesan, or serving alongside whipped goat cheese (another winner in our books), you’ve got a whole lotta fall flexibility for nourishing goodness. Again, look to the seasonings for your cue on a wine pairing. With creamy, cheesy roast cauliflower (or even a gratin) you can go for something richer like a Pinot Gris, for aromatic Indian spice you can try Gewurtztraminer or even Viognier. But if you have no idea which way to turn, an elegant and simple Italian white will do the trick.

Try: Anselmi San Vincenzo, Veneto, Italy 2013
$16.95 Vintages 948158
Orchard fruit flavours of apple and peach along with sweet citrus and light floral notes.

Chili & Zinfandel

Chili’s inherent bold flavours and fiery spice – whether moderate or severe – calls for a fruity wine to enhance the dish, as well as something substantial enough to stand up to the hearty weight. An earlier Sunday Supper post paired our turkey chili with Syrah, a match that worked quite well, and here, for beef chili, like this one from Cooking Light, we’re selecting a Zinfandel, for it’s deep fruit flavours, low tannin so as not to exacerbate the heat of the spice, a full bodied richness to take on meal.

Try: Ravenswood “Old Vine” Zinfandel, Lodi, California 2012
$20.95 Vintages 942599
Rich and plush with ripe cassis, dark chocolate, sweet spice and tamarind paste.

Roast turkey & pinot noir

You know this bird is going to be making a starring appearance once or twice at your dinner table. We’ve talked about how trying to find the perfect wine for your holiday table is enough to drive a party host mad, there’s just to many flavours, textures, and temperatures happening all at once. So forget it. Here, we’re looking at what we like drink with with roast turkey, period. And, that would be a fruity Pinot Noir. We like the lower tannins and brighter acidity to lighten an often dry bird, and we like the ripe red and black fruit flavours to enhance the turkey’s mild character.

Try: J.P. Chenet Pinot Noir, Vin de France 2011
$12.95 LCBO 142406
Medium bodied and fresh with sweet red cherry, vanilla, spice and black licorice.

Shepherd’s Pie & Côtes du Rhône

Technically, a true Shepherd’s Pie is made with lamb – a casserole made with beef, is a Cottage Pie. Truthfully we don’t really care one way or the other, but for sticklers, we’re keeping this pairing to a pie made with lamb and topped with mashed potatoes. A classic pairing for lamb, is of course Syrah, but the humble nature of this dish, which was traditionally a way to use up leftovers, calls for an inexpensive yet tasty red, so for that, we opt for a cheap and cheerful Cotes du Rhone.

Try: Perrin Réserve, Côtes du Rhône, France 2013
$15.95 Vintages 363457
Mostly Grenache and Syrah with a splash of Mouvedre, medium bodied with flavours of ripe black cherry, crushed peppercorn and dried herbs.

Chicken and corn stew & Chardonnay

Yes, corn is a late summer vegetable, but since it’s so readily available frozen, a rich and creamy chicken and corn stew – or chowder, for that matter – is a wonderful fall dinner, and not that far removed from a chicken pot pie, like the one we featured a few weeks ago. Chardonnay is just such a natural and obvious pairing, it’s hard to go with anything else. The rich, buttery texture of a good Chard is the perfect compliment to the rich and creamy stew.

Try: 13th Street Winery “Sandstone Vineyard” Chardonnay, VQA Niagara Escarpment 2010
$26.95 Vintages 230862
Rich and elegant with aromas and flavours of sweet oak spices, tropical fruit, toasted hazelnuts, creme brûlée topping, and vanilla bean.