I ’ll be honest; I don’t like autumn. Give me the fresh shoots of spring any day. But it does give us the opportunity to enjoy some great autumnal foods and the wines to go with them.
The food we eat takes on more weight and warmth. I certainly drink different wines too. My consumption of red wines increases over the cooler months, and I don’t mind an extra percentage point of warming alcohol on some of the cold nights. I drink fewer light crisp dry whites and instead look for richer, more textured white wines too.
I also allow myself a few more treats – either a warming Irish whiskey or a glass of fortified wine. I move from drinking crisp dry fino sherry to a bigger, more full-bodied dry Amontillado filled with toasted nuts and tobacco.
Today, I include two distinctive white wines. I have featured the Laurent Miquel Viognier before, but the 2025 is drinking really well just now. It is a steal at €10.
Australia once sold more wine to Irish buyers than any other country, but there is less evidence of this these days. I hadn’t tasted the autumn Riesling for a few years and had forgotten how good it is.
Piemonte is better known as the home of Barolo and Barbaresco, two of the great wines of Italy. However, the region also produces a wide range of wines using various local grape varieties. Barbera tends to be lighter and fresher with less tannin.
Crozes-Hermitage is in the northern Rhône, where the red wines are made almost entirely from the syrah grape. I paid a visit to Emmanuel Darnaud a few years ago and marked him out as a rising star.
Delicious succulent peach and apricot fruits balanced nicely by a refreshing acidity and a savoury note. Drink with root vegetable gratins, creamy chicken curries or cauliflower cheese. Outstanding value.
A mature riesling, replete with clean green fruits and floral aromas cut through with a racy acidity. Drink as an aperitif, or with smoked salmon.
Bright juicy blackcurrant and morello cherry fruits with a herbal touch. Drink with pasta with tomato sauce or salume.
The Corkscrew, Dublin 2; Green Man Wines, Dublin 6; Avoca; Jus de Vine, Portmarnock; The Wine Centre, Kilkenny; 64 Wine, Glasthule, Co Dublin
This is a lovely elegant syrah with black olives and savoury dark cherry fruits. Try it with feathered game or grilled pork chops.
Pinto Wines, Dublin 9; Red Island, Skerries, Co Dublin; Baggot Street Wines, Dublin 4; Drinkstore, Dublin 7; D-Six Off-licence, Dublin 6; McHugh’s, Dublin 5