White wine isn't just for summer. Our wine expert recommends the fruity, full-flavoured bottles that are perfect for when the temperature starts to drop.
It turns out that the secret to choosing the perfect white wine to drink in autumn and winter is a bit of traditional Chinese medicine. Bear with me, this does make sense. Chinese medicine has two sorts of fruits. ‘Yin’ fruits are cooling – think apple, pear, citrus and watermelon. These are the flavours of summer whites. Strawberry and kiwi fruit (which curiously ‘taste’ pink) are also ‘yin’ fruits, which explains the summer appeal of refreshing rosés too.
But ‘yang’ fruits are ‘warming’. Fruits such as lychee, peach, apricot, papaya, pineapple, and mango. According to Chinese medicine they stir up heat and circulation in your body – just what you need when you’re turning on the radiators in a few weeks.
The Black Pig Viognier 2025 (11.5%, RRP £11.99) is the textbook example of an autumnal white using this system. It has stone-fruit flavours, rounded out with papaya, and the tropical spiciness that you find in mango. Like wearing an Aran sweater, but on the inside. Somehow.
If you’re in Tesco, try Paul Mas Reserve Viognier 2025 (13%, RRP £10). It has an orange blossom aroma and that lovely peach and apricot fruit, gently rounded out with some clever work in the winery. Try serving it with something that includes pork and paprika.
These may be ‘warming’ whites, but you don’t actually serve them warm. You serve them from the fridge just like any other white. Once in the glass, however, these are wines whose fruit warms your soul.
Pinot Gris is another ‘warm’ white according to this system. Yealands Reserve Pinot Gris 2025 (13%, RRP £12.50) has a musky character with exotic lychee and jasmine flower wrapped around soft pear fruit. It’s lovely on its own, and this week I had it with a monkfish kebab. New Zealand has made this style of wine its own as it moves away from masses of gooseberry-tart Sauvignon Blanc.
Also very widely available is The Ned Pinot Grigio 2025 (14%, RRP £11.25). This has a slightly pink colour and a rich and juicy flavour with exotic fruit and spice, plus a lovely nectarine freshness. I’d have it with a warming and spicy chicken tagine.
But the ultimate region for an autumn and winter white is France’s Rhône Valley. Sometimes there’s a splash of Viognier, but mostly they’re a blend of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne and Roussanne. The warmth of summer days gets locked into the fruit and ultimately the wine. Morrisons’ Costières de Nîmes Blanc 2025 (12.5%, RRP £11) is a generous wine that’s ripe with peaches and floral aromas (and just a hint of cooling citrus to keep it in balance).
For a real treat try Soleil Pierres et Vent Côtes du Rhône Blanc 2024 (13.5%, RRP £16.99), which is a sort of ‘baby’ Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc. There’s a core of heritage pear fruit with complex and exotic notes of ‘warm’ stone fruits and spice. It’s a beautiful wine that shows you don’t need to go red for something warming and complex when the nights draw in. Just what the (traditional Chinese) doctor ordered.
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