As the Autumn leaves fall and the weather cools down, our wine pallet craves a new taste.
It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of WineBubble, their incredible and unique range of wines never cease to amaze me.
As the company continues to evolve and source wines from all over the world, they have opened my eyes to some of the most exquisite wines around, with the Autumn range being to exception.
If you love cooking (and of course eating) beautiful Italian food, and I certainly do, you will LOVE the Vinum Vita Est Barolo Nebbiolo 2011! This is hands down of of the most incredible red wines I have ever tried. The wine is dry and rich with a velvety soft touch.
With Autumn being all about those beautiful cheese platters – the perfect wine pairing is a must! If you’re a fan of a dry white with fuity tones the Lagar de Indra Albarino 2015 is lovely, ideal for those relaxing Sunday afternoons.
But if you want to add a little prosciutto to the platter and make it an antipasto – the Love Vineyards Malbec 2015 is divine with balanced flavours of fruit, spices and wood.
The list of amazing rich wine this Autumn is truly heavenly, so it was my pleasure to sit down with founder Red Norrie to get an insider’s guide to what we should be sipping.
What are some of the Autumn wine trends we can expect?
The continued march of international wines will continue.
Both Australian styles of international grapes like Barbera, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Fiano and Arneis, as well as wines from overseas particularly Europe and the USA.
Our local heavy hitters, Shiraz, Chardonnay and Cabernet, will always be strong but we think the consumer is looking in Autumn for wines that are lighter in style, lower alcohol and more medium in body at this time of year.
That’s where some of the European wines and grape varieties fit in, as many of their climates suit the production of medium body wines like Barbera, Gamay, Pinot Noir, Chenin Blanc, Riesling and Gruner Veltliner.
What are your 2 top white and two top reds are we start to move into the cooler weather?
Top 2 whites have to be Gruner Veltliner from Austria – a great change from Chardonnay and lovely luscious wines that are very versatile food wines, perfect with Asian dishes, salads, more robust chicken and cured meats.
And German Riesling as it is less dry than Australian Riesling (still dry though) so gives a little more of a roundness and is delicious with many foods as well.
Riesling has been called the King of all grapes by a world-renowned wine commentator.
Top 2 reds have to be Beaujolais from France – not the young, confected Nouveau style (leave that alone) but the richer, aged, complex wines from the Villages or one of the 13 ‘Crus’.
These wines are delicious, similar in style to Pinot Noir yet offer much better value than most Pinots from around the world.
The other red are love is Barbera as it offers young, easy drinking styles through to richer, cellar-worthy wines yet it remains the lesser red grape from Piedmont in North-East Italy: the Nebbiolo grape being the king red of this region.
Australian Barbera wines from the likes of the King Valley in Victoria are also fantastic.
What is the best wine to be serving at a family Sunday lunch?
Something fun and richer in body to work with your lovely food and the cooler temperatures. As Autumnal feasts tend to be a little heartier than Summer, a medium-bodied white or red wine tends to work really well.
Think well-known white wines like lightly oaked Chardonnay or Riesling, or lovely richer whites from international varieties like Chenin Blanc, Arneis or Gruner Veltliner.
Or red wines from Pinot Noir, Barbera or Gamay grapes from Australia, France and Italy.
What are the 3 new wine that will blow us away this season?
Three wines that you will see more of this season we think are Beaujolais from France, Riesling from Germany and Pinot Noir from around the world.
All being well-loved medium-body wines, we see these wines and regions are increasing in popularity.
Pinot Noir we expect to pop in the coming years due to its favour as an easy-drinking, lower alcohol, light-to-medium body wine.
Burgundy continues to price itself out of the general consumer market.
Demand for NZ Sauvignon Blanc stalls leaving Marlborough producers looking for something to do with their vines and Pinot works very well in this region, and can be produced much cheaper than Central Otago Pinot so NZ will start to push NZ Pinot much harder (you heard this first here!).
