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September brings us the last days of summer and the year\u2019s final opportunity for sun-drenched picnics. But how do we choose a suitable wine to ease us out of fancy-free summer and into the formality of fall?<\/p>\n
Why not go regional or, at least, Canadian? You\u2019ll cut down on the greenhouse gas emissions required to transport the wine, and you\u2019ll support our growers and producers.<\/p>\n
Local Pairings<\/p>\n
\u201cThree of my favourite picnic wines are Niagara Rieslings from Henry of Pelham, Strewn, and Vineland Estates,\u201d says Ottawa wine expert Natalie MacLean, author of Red, White, and Drunk All Over and a free newsletter featuring thousands of wine and food pairings, available at nataliemaclean.com.<\/p>\n
To complement picnic fare\u2013from salads and pat\u00e9 to smoked salmon and chicken\u2013try the Reisling from Niagra\u2019s Konzelmann Estate Winery or from BC’s Hillside Estate.<\/p>\n
Organic From Around the World<\/p>\n
Maybe your bias is toward organics, no matter their country of origin. Vancouver wine consultant and judge DJ Kearney is certainly a fan. She recommends Domaine de L\u2019Olivette Blanc 2006 as an ideal picnic accompaniment; it\u2019s an organic Southern French white vins de pays that\u2019s a blend of Grenache, Bourboulenc, and Marsanne.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe beguiling flavours of dried mixed citrus peel and garrigue (Proven\u00e7al) herbs are perfect for the change of seasons,\u201d says Kearney, who is also a chef. \u201cI\u2019d plan a picnic with a warm Mediterranean muffuletta sandwich, oozing pesto, cheese, and prosciutto, for this savoury white, or maybe a piquant salad of marinated mussels and a crusty loaf.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kearney\u2019s alternative for an organic red in late fall, as the temperature starts to drop, is the Finca Luzon Monastrell 2006 from Bodegas Luzon in Jumilla, Spain. \u201cIt\u2019s a lusty Spanish red from old vine Monastrell with no end of exuberant, black, plummy fruit, but also a gentle mellowness that is essentially autumnal,\u201d she explains. \u201cA smoky, spicy pulled pork bun or a steaming flask of beef and barley soup would temper the crisp weather.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a picnic wine whose buzz is more than alcoholic, Kearney recommends South Africa\u2019s organic Winds of Change Pinotage-Shiraz 2004, the first certified Fair Trade wine available in Canada. It\u2019s a product of African Terroir Wine\u2019s Tribal winery, a participant in South Africa\u2019s Black Economic Empowerment program.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe wine is full-flavoured, mouth-coating, and rib-sticking,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019d want some seriously smoky food with this fruit grenade\u2013like a grilled chorizo in a bun or simply a selection of prime charcuterie, aged cheese, and chewy bread.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lusty food, curvy wine, and a bit of altruism sound just right for the season. Sant\u00e9! Let the leaves fall where they may.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
September brings us the last days of summer and the year\u2019s final opportunity for sun-drenched picnics. But how do we choose a suitable wine to ease us out of fancy-free summer and into the formality of fall? Why not go regional or, at least, Canadian? You\u2019ll cut down on the greenhouse gas emissions required to transport the wine, and you\u2019ll support our growers and producers. Local Pairings \u201cThree of my favourite picnic wines are Niagara Rieslings from Henry of Pelham, Strewn, and Vineland Estates,\u201d says Ottawa wine expert Natalie MacLean, author of Red, White, and Drunk All Over and a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-food-entertaining","category-food-wine-pairing"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=611"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13520,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611\/revisions\/13520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}