Changing Seasons, Changing Tastes: What We’re Drinking This Autumn

There’s something about the first properly cool evening of autumn that changes what you want in your glass.

All summer, we’ve been reaching for crisp whites, rosé and anything with bubbles. Then the evenings get darker, the jumpers come out, and suddenly a cold glass of Sauvignon Blanc doesn’t always feel quite right.

For us, this is when red wine comes firmly back into the picture. We start looking for whites with a little more weight and texture too. Even aperitif hour starts to change.

So, with autumn properly here, these are some of the bottles we’re reaching for.

Red wine season is back

There’s probably no better season for red wine.

Sunday roasts, mushrooms, pasta, stews, cheese — the food gets richer, and naturally we start wanting wines with a bit more depth and structure alongside it.

And the timing is particularly good this year, because we’ve just landed a new shipment from one of our favourite producers.

A bit of a Zeronimo moment

If you’ve followed Vino Zero for a while, you’ll know how highly we rate Zeronimo.

There are plenty of producers making good alcohol-free wine now. What Zeronimo does differently is make genuinely serious wine first.

They work with old vines, interesting Austrian varieties, proper oak ageing and, in some cases, years of bottle age before the alcohol is ever removed. That approach really shows in the reds. They have structure, tannin and complexity — things that can still be frustratingly difficult to find in alcohol-free red wine.

And we’ve now got three very different Zeronimo reds to choose from.

Zeronimo Vintage Zweigelt is probably the place to start. Made from Austria’s native Zweigelt and aged in oak, there’s plenty of dark cherry and blackberry, but also spice, herbs and black tea. It’s dry, elegant and very easy to put on the dinner table.

Then there’s Zeronimo Vintage Leonis Blend, which takes things up a notch. Blaufränkisch, Zweigelt and Cabernet Sauvignon from old vines, with extended ageing in French oak before dealcoholisation. It’s darker, more structured and more complex. This is one we’d open with dinner and give a little time in the glass.

And finally, Zeronimo Century Blend Nr. 1.

This one is quite extraordinary. The original wine was made from Blaufränkisch, Merlot and Pinot Noir from vines over 70 years old, spent two years in French oak and then 18 years ageing in bottle before being dealcoholised. Only 2,500 bottles were produced.

It’s certainly not your everyday Tuesday-night bottle. But if you’re interested in just how far alcohol-free winemaking can go, this is a fascinating wine.

One thing with all three: don’t serve them too warm. Somewhere around 14–16°C works really well. And particularly with Leonis and Century, give them some time to open up.

White wine isn’t going anywhere

We’re definitely not suggesting packing away the whites until spring.

What changes for us is the style of white we want to drink.

Zeronimo Grüner Veltliner still has plenty of freshness, but also enough character and texture to make sense at this time of year. Think orchard fruit, citrus and that lovely peppery edge Grüner is known for. It’s brilliant with roast vegetables, poultry, seafood or soft cheeses.

For something a little richer, DIVIN Chardonnay is another autumn favourite. Fuller and rounder, it works particularly well with the sort of food we suddenly start cooking again — roast chicken, creamy pasta, mushrooms and anything involving a generous amount of butter.

And don’t serve these wines absolutely freezing. Give them 15 or 20 minutes out of the fridge and you’ll get much more from them.

Bubbles are not just for summer

We’re also not putting the sparkling wine away.

For an easy bottle to have chilled and ready, Studio Italiano Spumante is hard to beat. Fresh, uncomplicated Italian bubbles that work brilliantly before dinner, with snacks, or whenever you fancy opening something sparkling without needing an occasion.

At the other end of the spectrum, there’s BOLLE Blanc de Blancs. This is the one we’d reach for when we want something a little more special — more refined, more complex and with enough going on to carry through from aperitif to dinner.

Basically, there is absolutely no need to wait until Christmas to open the good bubbles.

Aperitif hour gets an autumn update

We’ve also recently added Franka Nordic Aperitif to Vino Zero, and it feels particularly right for this time of year.

Franka comes from Sweden and is tart, bitter, botanical and just a little wild. There’s lingonberry and rhubarb alongside herbs, spice and those more savoury Nordic flavours.

Serve it simply over ice with tonic, or use it as the starting point for an alcohol-free cocktail before dinner.

It’s a very different drinking experience from wine, which is exactly why we like it.

We have beer now, too

This is a relatively new development at Vino Zero.

We’ve always been wine people — and probably always will be — but sometimes what you actually want is a beer.

So we’ve recently started adding a small selection of alcohol-free beers to the shop. The same rule applies here as it does to the wine: we’re not interested in stocking something just because it’s alcohol-free. It needs to be something we actually want to drink.

Pizza, curry, something spicy, Sunday afternoon football... sometimes wine just isn’t the answer.

Drink what you fancy

Of course, none of this is a rule.

If it’s pouring with rain in November and you fancy a glass of rosé, have the rosé.

But one of the things we love about wine is how naturally it follows the seasons. Our food changes, our routines change, and what we feel like drinking tends to change with them.

Right now, that means more red wine, richer whites, good bubbles, a proper aperitif before dinner — and apparently the occasional beer.

And with the new Zeronimo shipment finally here, we have a feeling there are going to be quite a few reds opened over the next few months.

Explore the Vino Zero collection and find something new for autumn.