VineStyles Fall Favorites: What We're Drinking

Suddenly the days are shorter, nights are cooler and your nearly primal desire for rosé and crisp white on the patio is slowly waning. Even if you haven’t realized it yet, you’ll soon find yourself reaching for reds and heavier whites just as naturally – and happily – as you add a scarf to your outfit. Coax your palate into cool weather wine styles with these terrific, transition wines.

MELLOW: Torbreck, Woodcutter’s Semillon, 2012 ($29)

Unfamiliar with Semillon? It’s a grape native to Bordeaux in France where it’s usually blended with Sauvignon Blanc to create the classic, White Bordeaux blend. It’s also the “unsung hero” of Sauternes (lusciously sweet, French dessert wine). Semillon has found a second home in Australia where it makes whites worthy of aging!

In its youth, this wine had vibrant acidity and a freshness that urged consumers to enjoy it after a long day in the sun. Now, after many years in the bottle, it’s evolved and mellowed into a magical, complex wine with softer acidity, notes of tropical fruit and a subtle nutty quality.

LUSH: Cobertizo, Godello, 2015, ($22)

This Spanish grape was almost extinct in the 1970’s but thanks to some valiant efforts in 1980’s this varietal is winning over the hearts of wine geeks everywhere! Like Chardonnay, wines yielded from this grape can vary tremendously depending on where it’s grown and how it’s made. This particular offering is rich and full bodied with notes of golden apple, Meyer lemon and a rich finish – perfect for scallops.

ELEGANT: Zorzal, Eggo Franco, 2015 ($34)

We’re suckers for well-made Cabernet Franc. Native to France, this varietal bolsters blends in Bordeaux, in the Loire valley it shines in all its splendor as a single varietal in regions like Chinon. The process to make this wine is rather unique – it’s fermented in concrete eggs (hence the name), a portion of the grape stems and half of the wine is left in contact with the skins for a few months. After this, the wine is pressed off the skins and bottled resulting in a wine with soft, supple tannins and notes of herbs, rich berries, tobacco and cloves.

BOLD: Vero, Negro Amaro, 2015 ($26)

A grape so perfectly true to its name. Negro Amaro is native to Puglia in Italy, it is precisely what the name suggests: Negro = dark, Amaro = bitter (in a spicy kind of way). This wine is new to our shelves but we’re already in love. It’s rich in flavour – intensely spicy and herbal balanced by notes of juicy blackberries and a slightly bitter after taste. A wine that will make those first chilly nights infinitely more bearable!