Pairing wine with autumn

Autumn is Antoine’s favourite season. Dishes get richer, sauces reduce, and northern Rhône wines finally find their place at the table.

Start from the dish, not the bottle

A good pairing starts with a simple question: what leads on the plate? The sweetness of squash, the earthiness of a mushroom, the iron of game. The wine then supports that taste, or contradicts it just enough to wake it up.

The best pairing is often the wine you would not have dared to order.

Antoine Mercier, sommelier

What we are pouring right now

With the Sauge menu, the four-glass pairing follows exactly this logic, and changes with the menu. If you would rather have a bottle, Antoine always suggests two: a safe one, and a more curious one.

Three autumn pairings

• Squash loves round whites: a Condrieu, a Viognier.
• Mushrooms call for a light red, a Morgon served cool.
• Game stands up to Syrah: Saint-Joseph or Côte-Rôtie.

Read next