Feelin' Fall

You can tell when Autumn has truly arrived. Besides the cooler weather, the falling leaves, and football, there is something else in your senses that tells you it's here. You can smell it. The air is crisp, smoky, earthy, and rich. During this time of year I want a wine that mimics that aroma. The Pardevalles Gamonal Prieto Picudo from Spain is that wine.

Pardevalles Prieto Picudo, which is quite a difficult and delicate variety to cultivate, has a beautifully complex nose of dried flowers, red berries, fallen leaves, and freshly turned earth. It has modest tannins and plenty of food friendly acidity, but it maintains a nice, polished mouthfeel.  Prieto Picudo is a grape of Valdevimbire, in León, in northwestern Spain. This region offers some rich and delicious cuisine, like salty and smoky cured beef and pork, which would make a lovely pairing with this wine. A cloudy Autumn evening, a plate of rich cheese and charcuterie, and a bottle of this embracing red wine, and you will be perfectly content. I also recommend pulling on a sweater and opening your window a crack to let those lovely Autumn aromas enchant you further.