Don't be sad that summer is ending.
Be glad fall is arriving, giving you the opportunity to change up your wine drinking.
Mellow autumn and its cooler weather means patio wines and beach guzzlers are replaced with textured whites, interesting roses and light reds.
By the way, fall officially arrives with the September equinox at exactly 11:19 am on Tuesday.
My wife, Kerry, and I seasonally test drove the following 8 wines to verify they are fabulous for fall.
And all of them are approachable and affordable, priced at $30 or less a bottle.
- CedarCreek 2024 Pinot Noir Rose ($26)
Made by the Kelowna winery of grapes from Oregon.
This layered pink is the perfect transition wine from summer to fall -- bright and fresh, but with some complexity.
The ideal sip when you throw on a sweater to sit on the deck or roast a chicken for Sunday dinner.
- Intrigue 2024 Focus Riesling ($26) from Lake Country
Some vines did produce grapes after the January 2024 deep freeze.
Thus, Intrigue was able to source a limited amount of grapes from the Davis Family Vineyard in Lake Country to make this premium, lush, aromatic and flavourful Riesling.
The wine to pull out when you make schnitzel in cream sauce.
- Intrigue 2024 Riesling ($23)
Again, made from 100% BC grapes, some from Intrigue's estate Wong Vineyard, some from Davis Family Vineyard and some from around Duncan on Vancouver Island.
The result: an off-dry and juicy beauty with aromas and flavours of green apple and lime with nice minerality.
- Intrigue 2024 Social White ($22)
The winery was able to grow and source enough BC Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Auxerrois and Muscat grapes to make this crowd-pleasing off-dry blend.
In fact, it's so crowd-pleasing that Intrigue puts right on the label all the occasions it's perfect for -- date night, biking, sun, shindig, sand, festival, party, vacation, concert, wedding, camping, beach, friends get together, hang out, pool, bonfire, brunch, reunion, barbecue, appies and housewarming.
Phew.
- Tohu 2023 Sauvignon Blanc ($23.50) from New Zealand
Classic New Zealand Sauv Blanc with a pineapple-lime-and-crushed-
Pair it traditionally with fish and chips for grilled shrimp or non-traditionally with Thai curry or asparagus risotto.
- Umani Ronchi Casal Serra 2023 Organic Verdicchio ($20) from Italy
Juicy and textured with aromas and flavours of white peach, lemon drop and almond.
It's versatile for food pairing, so try spaghetti and clams, pasta in cream sauce, pizza, chicken or pork.
- Tedeschi Capitel Tenda 2022 Soave Classico ($25) from Italy
There's some salty tang along with this lovely wine's honeydew-lemon-and-almond profile.
Again, a versatile Italian to sip on its own or with pasta, pizza, grilled vegetables or Cesar salad.
- Stoneboat 2022 Pinot Noir ($30) from Oliver
Back to the Okanagan for our final wine, a classic Pinot with aromas and flavours of sour cherry, raspberry, plum and cranberry.
Serve this light-bodied red with your final barbecue of the summer or the first roast beef of the fall.
Steve MacNaull is a NowMedia Group reporter, Okanagan wine lover and Canadian Wine Scholar. Reach him at [email protected]. His wine column appears every Friday afternoon in this space.
