The Wines I'm Drinking Now - Fall 2023 Edition

I’m constantly looking for new and different wines to sample and enjoy. The change in seasons provides a perfect excuse to seek out unique wines I haven’t tried before. Here’s my take on some delicious wines I recently tried for the first time that pair perfectly with the cooler autumn weather!

The seasons are a big driver in determining what kind of wines I drink. In the summer, I focus on light, refreshing white wines like Pinot Gris. In the winter, I’m all about big and bold reds like Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Zinfandel. In the spring, my mouth starts watering for a crisp Rosé. And in the fall, I turn to cooler weather wines like Pinot Noir, bigger whites like Chardonnay and Viognier, rich Italian reds, and even orange wines!

I decided to highlight five different wines that I have tasted recently and that pair perfectly with the fall weather (and would also go nicely with Thanksgiving dinner as well!). These wines are widely available so seek them out if you have the time – you won’t be disappointed!

• 2021 Dagger Leaf Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley OR ($20). This is a great value Pinot Noir from Oregon that hits all the right notes for a crisp autumn day. It’s a medium-bodied wine with notes of dark cherry and baking spice on the nose. While sipping this wine, I tasted red berry fruit, plum, and black pepper. The tannins are light which make this an easy drinking Pinot Noir but with nice complexity as well. Try this with butternut squash soup or braised short ribs with red wine jus.

• 2022 Kudos Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley OR ($18). Yes, I’m still drinking crisp white wines like Pinot Gris in the fall. Why? Because even though the weather has cooled down here and the humidity is much lower as well, we still get days every so often when summer tries to rear its ugly head (like this past Saturday at the Sarasota Food and Wine Festival where we tied a record high of 90 degrees and the “feel like” temperature was 95 degrees – I was NOT happy!). Enter Kudos Pinot Gris, a lovely wine from the Willamette Valley that has wonderfully tart acidity, along with juicy citrus fruit and hints of kiwi and pear. This is a bright and lean wine that’s perfect for an “Indian Summer” afternoon out on the deck or lanai (and for my family who live in Minnesota, for those mid-60’s temperatures you were enjoying this past week!). Pair with a chicken Caesar salad while dining al fresco before the snow flurries arrive for all of you who don’t live in Florida!

• Non-Vintage Poderi di Carlo Pinot Grigio Orange, Friuli Italy ($20). Two Pinot Gris/Grigio wines for the fall? You got that right! But this one is much different from the Pinot Grigio you are likely familiar with because this is an orange wine, which means that it was fermented for a bit of time (24-36 hours) with the skins which gives it a copper/straw/orange color and unique flavor profile. If you have never tried an orange wine you really should – they are widely available now and this one provides the perfect introduction to this style of wine. It’s a fruity wine with bright citrus notes, along with tangerine and peach flavors and a hint of vanilla. It’s like a cross between a Rosé and a leaner white wine. This wine is also unfiltered, which means it’s a bit cloudy in the glass with some (completely harmless!) sediment at the bottom of the bottle. I like this wine with a spicy Thai stir-fry or orange chicken.

• 2021 Smith Bench Chardonnay, Arroyo Seco CA ($20). This is a classic cool-weather Chardonnay, with nice tropical fruit notes (think pineapple, mango, and honeydew melon) along with a silky, rich mouthfeel courtesy of the oak barrel aging and malolactic (secondary) fermentation. This is a wine for those of you who love bigger oaky Chardonnays, but I’d also encourage those of you who tend to avoid such wines to give this one a try. While you definitely taste the oak influence, there’s still some nice acidity and bright fruit character that lends a bit of moderation into the mix. Pair this wine with linguine with shrimp in a wine and butter sauce.

• 2017 Travaglini Gattinara Reserva, Piedmont Italy ($69). Nope, the price isn’t a misprint unfortunately! But this is an Italian wine worth the price! I first had the non-reserve version of this wine over 20 years ago which sold for a bit over $20 a bottle (and speaking of the bottle, it’s a unique and misshapen bottle that is frosted, making it entirely different from any other wine bottle out there!) and I absolutely loved it. It’s made of 100% Nebbiolo, an Italian red grape that is the variety used to make the Piedmont-based Barolo wines (often referred to as the "king of wines"). This bottling has highly extracted, rich fruit with notes of blackberry, blueberry, along with earthy scents and flavors. The tannins are high, and the wine is full-bodied – this one is a monster that could easily age for another 15 – 20 years. If you like your wines rich and big, this is the one for you! Serve with beef stew and polenta for a match made in heaven! Also, just FYI and as mentioned previously, they make a non-reserve version of this wine that now sells for $38 – it’s lovely as well but definitely not as good as the Reserva!

Give these wines and try and let me know what you think!