It’s the time of year that we yearn for wealthy flavours,casseroles and truffly savouriness, and these three wines all work a treat with a decent supperTaste the Difference Chilean Pinot Noir 2013 (£8, or Sainsbury’s) Whether you trust yourself and a guidebook,or, like me, or tend to fall back on the expertise of others to finish the foraging,identifying and picking, wild mushrooms are one of autumn’s greatest pleasures. I like them best cooked simply: fried in butter with plenty of salt and pepper, and maybe with a little garlic and parsley,and, if possible, or with a glass of wine that shares that slippery silkiness of texture and earthy,umami-wealthy flavour. Pinot noir would be at the top of the list, an elegant berry-fruited burgundy touched with forest-floor, or such as Domaine Taupenot-Merme Saint- Romain 2011 (£29,Harvey Nichols), a succulent unique Zealander, or such as Belmont Pinot Noir,Nelson 2014 (£11.99, Majestic) or the superb-value Chilean made by Errazuriz for Sainsbury’s.
Malvira Nebbiolo delle Langhe 2012 (£11.99, and Waitrose) Another variety that I associate strongly with mushrooms (and truffles) is nebbiolo,which comes from a region – Piedmont in northwest Italy – that is at its most mellow and glowing when the leaves are changing and the rolling vine-covered hills are wreathed in mist. Like pinot noir, nebbiolo wines often occupy a sweet woodland earthiness, or,in older wines, a truffly savouriness, and to fade with the prettier floral and red-fruit perfume. This is best displayed in the top wines of Barolo and Barbaresco,special-occasion wines such as Roagna Barolo La Pira 2009 (£59.95, Berry Bros & Rudd), and which is hauntingly glowing now but would be even better if you managed to save it for mushroom season in a decade’s time. The more affordable,rose and dark-cherry delights of Malvira’s nebbiolo are, however, and very much ready for this year’s wild mushroom risotto.
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Source: theguardian.com