During the cooler winter months, the types of wine we buy tend to shift.  Gone is the crisp, mouth watering whites or the juicy reds that we enjoyed when the temperature was warmer.  When it is cooler, it gives me cause to search for some heartier reds to enjoy with the hearty, richer dishes.  Right now I am on the lookout for some full-bodied Zinfandel and hearty Italian reds.

A lot of consumers are not so seasonal when it comes to wine.  Some will enjoy white wine all year long, while others start a meal with white and finish with red.

The foods we eat in the colder months are very well suited to red wines.  Hearty dishes such as beef stew, braised lamb shanks, a rich meat sauce with pasta, and even roasted fall root vegetables, all these foods go well together with red wines.  During the winter we welcome warm fragrant aromas throughout the house, making our mouths water.

When serving red wine, the temperature of the wine is quite often too warm.  The ambient room temperature – around 70ºC – can sometimes make the wine feel hot and heavy with the alcohol in the wine becoming quite pronounced.  In reality, the best temperature to serve red wine at is between 55º and 65º, quite a bit cooler than standard room temperature.  Putting the wine in the fridge for 10-15 minutes will bring the temperature down.  Clipping a wine thermometer onto the bottle will give you a somewhat accurate measurement of the temperature.

With the holidays lying in wait and the money associated with it, it is time to think about some value wines to tide us over.  There is a huge supply of excellent wine on the market, with something for everyone’s tastes and budget.

Australia has fallen off drastically in terms of popularity although there is still quality at just about all price points.  The Category has been steadily dropping over the past 4-5 years and according to latest LDB Quarterly Review (September 2012), the category has not even been able to climb into a positive change.  It may be that consumers are tiring of the sweet, jammy style of wine, popularized by Yellow Tail and its imitators.

Argentina was the heir apparent to Australia but even that country has not been immune to consumer’s tastes. Value for money it is still one of the best with consumers discovering the Malbec grape.  In 2009, that helped to drive sales up over 40%.  That figure has now dropping to a disappointing 3.8%.

There are great tasting and great value wines from Chile but the sales in that category are not in the positive either.  Still, there are delicious wines to be had.

Sales of French wine have never been spectacular but they are in the positive due in part to the fabulous value of the wines from their southern region.  Wines here are produced from regional varieties such as Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre.

Spain was never impressive as far as sales, either.  However, being a world-class producer of wine, the country offers history and tradition, which when combined with modern winemaking technology produces wines of unique character.  Value has always been a term

associated with Spanish wines and in recent years, major investments and developments have helped push Spanish wines into a positive.

New Zealand is currently the most popular wine category in BC. Sales have been on a growth spurt over the past few years so that now they are up an astounding 23%.

Closer to home, California has come into a positive after years of flat sales.

So while you are cooking up some great lamb or beef stews, wonderful casseroles, slow roasted lamb shanks or a delicious, roasted boneless pork loin, consider searching for that perfect wine to match.  Great wintery food and hearty red wine just seem to go hand in hand.

Although most wines are ready to enjoy now, you will find that if you leave some wines to age for a few years of bottle age it will make a great difference, particularly with Cabernet Sauvignon.  Laying the wines down will allow them to develop and make for even better enjoyment next winter.

Weekend Wine Picks:

You could have great difficulty finding another Malbec that competes with the 2011 Casa de Campo Malbec ($12) at this price for depth, breadth, complexity, and length.  The colour is almost a dark purple with an intoxicating aroma of black raspberries, black currants, crushed dried berries, cocoa, and grilled meat.  On the mid-palate, the wine is pure, supple, and medium to full-bodied with flavours that are an extension of the aromas intertwined with plums, chocolate and toasty oak.  This wine is incredibly versatile with food, perfect for summer entertaining and is a tremendous value.

Intense and complex, the 2007 Viña San Pedro 1865 Syrah ($28) was aged for 12 months in French (95%) and American (5%) oak barrels, of which about 50% of which are first use and the rest second and third use.  An intense, opaque purple/violet-red wine loaded with aromas of toasted wood, creamy vanilla, cassis, blackberry, plum, black cherry, roasted meat/dry-rub spices, licorice, dark chocolate and tobacco leaf. The palate is full of intense flavours of candied black fruit, rich chocolate, soft, velvety acidity and silky tannins leading to a full, concentrated finish. One of the finest Syrahs on the market, it is enjoyable now or cellar over the next decade.

The 2007 Graham Beck Shiraz ($20…reduced from $29) is a rich, dense full-bodied wine with intense aromas and flavours of blackberry, blueberry, cassis, smoke, black pepper, roasted game and leather with hints of tobacco, earth, chocolate and oak.  It is a huge wine for the price, ideal with braised short ribs or hearty winter stews.

Finding a decent Pinot Noir is sometimes a frustrating venture, such are the problems in producing wine from the grape but to find one that really stands out is a Pinophiles dream come true.  The 2006 Brancott “Central Otago” Pinot Noir ($19.90…reduced from $33.90) is an excellent example of what this variety is capable of when grown properly and handled with kid gloves during production.  The aromas coming out of the glass are pure decadent pleasure with its rich cherry, raspberry, smoke leather, forest floor characteristics and subtle spicy oak.  The texture is pure Burgundian, soft, velvety and rich with a stunningly long, long finish.  Superb with rich meat/game dishes with mushroom-based sauces.