The Season’s Bounty
Fall cuisine typically involves dried fruits, cooked squash and lots of pumpkin, Chevalier says. Things are ripenings this time of year, he notes. “And there’s so many great fall spices, all the cinnamons and gingers.”
Fig & Olive’s rosemary lamb chops pair well with an oaked California cabernet.
Fig & Olive, which operates eight restaurants—four in New York, two in the Los Angeles area and one each in Chicago and Washington, D.C., in previous seasons offered a pumpkin sage ravioli ($26) in the fall. The dish has “wonderful sage notes, and is rich and spicy,” says Malnati. He pairs a medium-bodied red wine, such as a chianti, with the pumpkin ravioli.
“The chianti has notes of eucalyptus and spearmint, with forest profiles,” he says. “When you’re drinking it, you feel like you’re camping in the forest.”
Another good match with the pasta dish is the Vindicated cabernet from Napa Valley, which Fig & Olive Meatpacking sells by the glass for $17 to $19. Malnati suggests a wide array of bottles, ranging in price from $50 to $92, from entry-level chianti to a Barolo Reserva.
At Steak & Whisky, the menu makes use of a traditional fall fruit by serving pickled crab apples alongside a lamb dish. “A classic wine to pair with lamb is a good red Bordeaux,” Clark says. “Something like a 2005 Chateau Vignot, a bottle we list at $120.” The wine blend is mostly merlot, he says of the Chateau Vignot. “The soft, rich tannins of the merlot, the earthiness and smokiness, play well with the lamb flavors.”
Meat the Reds
Clark also looks towards rioja wine from Spain this season, especially the gran reserva variety.
“With a little aging, you can really get that fantastic oak-influenced flavors,” he explains. “That goes well with dill pickles, beautiful dried fruits, cranberries, figs.”
Rioja is a traditional Thanksgiving pairing, “because it goes well with the entire spread,” he notes.
“We’ve got a great bottle of Ribera del Duero—though not technically rioja, it has the same grapes and aging process—for $78 that is amazing with rich steaks and game,” he adds.
For something “more contemplative,” Clark will suggest Steak & Whisky’s trio of old vintages from Marques de Caceres (1990, 1994, 1995). These riojas can “make you stop and think about the changing seasons, and are worth the price point of $170 to $190.”
San Francisco bistro Nico recommends Antica Terra Rosé Erratica 2011 with fall pork dishes.
Reeds American Table serves a pork steak with braised collard greens, potato rösti, and crème fraîche ($15). Ivanov recommends pairing this with Bernard Magrez Kahina ($13 wa glass), a Moroccan red wine blend of 40% syrah and 60% grenache.
“It’s got that grenache spice, and some caramel notes,” Ivanov says of the Kahina. “The pork has a soft flavor profile, so this wine matches well, since it’s juicy without being overpowering.”
Another Fig & Olive fall specialty is rosemary lamb chops, smoked à la minute, with Herbs de Provence, goat cheese and chive gnocchi, braised eggplant with honey and thyme, and rosemary garlic olive oil ($39).
“The smokiness rises right out of this dish,” says Malnati. “To match with that, I usually steer guests towards an oaked California cabernet,” which Fig & Olive sells for between $17 and $19 a glass.
Clark is a big fan of cabernets from France: “They scream out for food this time of year.” He will suggest pairing a dry-aged steak with cabernet from the Domaine de la Noblaie vineyard in Chinon ($17 per glass).
“The cabernet tannins and greenness will cut through anything smoked or braised,” he says.
The beverage menu at Reeds American Table lists optimal food pairings for each order. In addition to red and white wines, several dishes are a match with vermouth.
For instance, the fingerling potato salad with roasted red potatoes ($8) pairs well with the Salers Gentiane ($7 a glass), a French apéritif made from gentian root and white wine.
The menu suggests diners try the Italian Americano Rosato Vermouth ($7) with the ricotta gnocchi appetizer ($11).
“The vermouth has a distinctive tart flavor, and that pairs well with the fall arugula of the gnocchi dish,” says Ivanov.
