Our favourite Autumnal food & wine pairings

by Greta Codyre April 14, 2023

Autumn is well and truly in full swing; the days are getting shorter and the last couple of weeks have brought a noticeable chill to the air. This change of season is the perfect time of year for richer reds and more full-bodied white wines.

We have put together some of our favourite autumn wines, perfect for the cooler evenings and even better when enjoyed in front of the roaring fire. Think a rich, unctuous Viognier from the Perth Hills or a full-bodied Chardonnay from Margaret River. Maybe a bright Tasmanian Pinot Noir or a bold Frankland River Shiraz might be more your style? Whatever you decide, get cosy and shop our favourites below.

We have also paired each wine with some delicious, seasonal dishes to keep the impending chill at bay. These are the bottles to crack open when your dinner is bubbling away in your slow cooker, there's a chicken pie browning in the oven or you're tucking into your favourite pasta. And don't forget that it's nearly mushroom and truffle season too - the ideal match for light- to medium-bodied reds like Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo!

Read on for our favourite autumnal wine and food pairings.

Deep Woods Estate 2021 Single Vineyard Chardonnay

Fantastic aromas of sliced cooked lemons and apple with flint, crushed stone, nutmeg and spiced pear. Medium to full body. Crisp acidity. Razor sharp. Oyster shells. Steely undertones. Tangy acidity.

- 96 Points, James Suckling 2022

This is a concentrated Chardonnay with a taut, elegant acidity making it a delicious pairing with hearty autumnal foods such as pulled pork, mushroom risotto, or roast chicken.

Evans & Tate 2018 Redbrook Estate Chardonnay

Crushed cashew, white peach, briny acidity and silky phenolics on the palate. Seamless, creamy and classy, this is perfectly Margaret River, in a perfect year. Lovely stuff.

- 95 Points, Halliday Wine Companion 2022

Oak ageing and time spent on lees gives body to white wines, as well as savoury flavours, and this 2018 Chardonnay has these characters in spades. Time in bottle has lent a creamy, nutty and rich palate making it the perfect match for earthy, savoury autumnal food. Try a chicken and leek pot pie with a glass of this Redbrook Estate wine for a truly heavenly pairing.

Millbrook Winery 2021 Estate Viognier

Viognier is one of the key varieties for Millbrook and it's got a good reputation. It has all the Turkish apricot, red apple, orchard blossom, frangipani and honeysuckle characters that we associate with Viognier, but it also has a mineral seam of acidity that scrapes through the wine, keeping things fresh and lively. It's a beautiful wine, again.

- 95 Points, Halliday Wine Companion 2023

Viognier is the perfect match for autumnal root vegetables or warming stews – and don't forget a baked brie or camembert! Offering unctuous marmalade and rich savoury characters, this Estate wine is also a treat to enjoy without food too.

Dalwhinnie 2020 Three Valleys Pinot Noir

Equal parts Huon (for perfume), Derwent (for structure and poise) and Coal River (for fruit concentration) Valleys; fermented and matured separately for 10 months in large-format French oak. The Fogarty Group's foray into Tasmania has facilitated a stunning new Pinot for Dalwhinnie. A seamless union of its 3 valleys, this is a beautiful rendition of the elegance of 2020, delivering accurate, graceful black and red cherry fruits, set off with silky tannins. It's delightful from the outset and will only blossom in the cellar.

- 94 Points, Halliday Wine Companion 2023

This bright, silky Pinot Noir is the ideal accompaniment to game meat dishes, such as rabbit and venison. Or, for the ultimate decadent experience pair this wine with Tasmanian truffle risotto.

Smithbrook 2018 Single Vineyard Nebbiolo

Hand-picked, crushed and destemmed into a small open fermenter, 4 weeks on skins. Special care to manage tannin extraction and promote fruit retention was an unqualified success. It's not full-bodied, but the flavours and wild forest fruits and red cherries come through well. And the price!

- 94 Points, Halliday Wine Companion 2021

Nebbiolo is a food wine in every way – it is light and terroir focused in the flavour department, but heavy on tannin for full-bodied structure. The original and most famous home of Nebbiolo is Northen Italy so it makes sense that any tomato-based red sauce dish is ready to serve with Nebbiolo: think Ragù, Bolognese, Amatriciana, Marinara, Puttanesca or Arrabiata.

Millbrook Winery 2020 Single Vineyard Shiraz

Frankland River delivers characters and textures that you don't get in other parts of WA (or Australia). The Shiraz wines are laden with ferrous, blood, rust, red gravel, and they are evocative of the vast, open blue skies down there. This wine shows us those parts of itself; the tannins support the weight of the fruit, the oak imperceptible save for the texture... testament to the muscle, brawn and might of the fruit. Very smart indeed.