Orange you glad it's autumn?

Fall Food & Wine

Happy Fall Vintnerds! 

We took a summer hiatus, but are now feeling the renewal of the equinox. Fall is a powerful time in our collective psyche. Harvest comes, bringing abundance. New school years promise the chance at self-determination anew. As the days get shorter, we return to our homes for rest and security.

For some, this time of year actually signifies the New Year. In the Jewish tradition, Rosh Hashanah, always in the fall, is the beginning of the year, and for those who celebrate the wheel of the year, Samhain is the beginning of another turn. 

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

For wine, fall is a season of celebration. We’ve finished the growing season, now is the time to trust the grapes to make new wine and bring back our deeper red wines from years past. Beaujolais Nouveau is only 8 weeks away as the first of the 2024 vintages and we cannot wait to pair it with every soup and harvest bowl we come across. 

To help celebrate the autumnal equinox, we present our seasonal guide in the hopes it help you take advantage of what’s best in this season! 

We are firmly back in the red during fall, with lighter bodied reds like Pinot Noir and Grenache making the most versatile choices for fall produce. Whites should be fuller bodied, with Chardonnay being the VIP choice for pairing with classics like roasted butternut squash and sweet potatoes. Bottles we recommend grabbing: 

Erath is Melissa’s go-to grocery store Pinot, for its jammy and earthy profile and easy pairing.

J. Lohr regularly ranks higher than other, twice as expensive US chardonnays. It is buttery, but also has some nice stone fruit flavors that keep it from tasting like movie theater popcorn. 

While summer brings us abundance, fall brings us premium products. Fall produce tends to be heartier, meaning your farmer’s market hauls will last longer if you forget you bought beets two weeks ago (guilty). 

Everything is perfect for chopping and roasting on a sheet pan, throwing over a grain, and drizzling with a sauce. Call it a harvest bowl, call it a sheet pan dinner, we don’t care as long as you call us over for dinner.

Erin’s go-to: Sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and chicken sausage over a quinoa base with garlic-lemon tahini dressing.

Melissa’s go-to: Sweetgreen Harvest Bowl Dupe