7 Classic Fall Dishes and Their Wine Pairings

This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on these links and make purchases, I may receive a small commission. I only link to products I genuinely trust and recommend. Thank you for your support.

With so many flavors in fall foods, it can be hard to decide what wines pair with what dishes. There are some notoriously difficult foods like squash and pumpkin. Which is terrible because cold weather is when we need wines to warm us up the most! 

Wrong season? Check out this guide to Classic Springtime Wine Pairings or the Best Summer Wine Pairings!

Fortunately all is not lost. Stick to some general guidelines, depending on how you spice your dish. Spicy Food? Sweet wine. Savory Food? Dry wine. Fatty dark meat? Red. Creamy or light dish? White wine. If all else fails, choose from the list below. Fall wine pairings can be difficult, but not impossible!

PAIR Butternut Squash Soup WITH South African Chenin Blanc

Obviously Butternut squash is heavy on butter and nut notes. And the soups it makes tend to be very creamy and rich. (Especially if you are adding even more butter!) You’ll want a dry white with a bit of a nutty flavor. South African Chenin Blancs will do nicely!

Other options include Amontillado Sherry if you want to highlight the fruity creaminess. Or Aged Semillon if you’re adding more of a curry spice flavor.

For Butternut Squash Ravioli, Risotto, or other pasta pair Vouvray or similarly light Chenin Blanc

PAIR Roast Chicken and Veggies WITH Chardonnay

Roast chicken is fairly easy to pair because floats right in the middle of red and white, based on how you season it! For whites, choose big, bold flavors like Chardonnay or Viognier. They are heavy enough to stand up to the strong chicken flavors. For reds, do the opposite! Pick something light and fruity like pinot noir. You want it to complement the roast veggies and darker, spicier choices on your chicken. But don’t overwhelm the chicken flavor with lots of thick tannins!

PAIR Pork Chops with Cinnamon Apple Chutney WITH Beaujolais

Pork is another middle of the road meat. It stands up to a light, fruity reds. Beaujolais is one such example. Beaujolais Nouveau (one type of the wine) is actually only released right around Thanksgiving. That’s about as fall as it gets.

If you want to highlight the apples, try an off-dry Riesling. A little sweeter so it will bring out the sweeter flavors in the meat as well. And riesling’s apple notes will fill your palate with fall flavors.

PAIR Stuffed Acorn Squash WITH Grüner Vetliner

This is where it gets really tricky because…what are you stuffing your squash with?! (Probably the hard question you wrestled with before you made the dish to begin with.) Good thing though, once you’ve picked a stuffing, you’ve picked a wine by default.

The pairing above is for a rustic savory, mediterranean, or Italian stuffing. Older, aged grüners are textured wines with full body and complex structure. These pair will with both sweet squash and sage-y sausage or hearty grains like quinoa. They’ll also pair with both parmesan and feta if you choose to sprinkle on top. They have a bit of spice which adds another level to the meal!

For a Mexican Style Stuffed Acorn Squash pair a Rioja or Trebbiano

For a Curry Style Stuffed Acorn Squash pair a Torrontés or a Gewürztraminer

PAIR Beef Bourguignon WITH Côtes du Rhône

Technically you shouldn’t even need to ask this question. You make this dish with red wine. If you pair it with white…the wine gods will pelt you with corks. Or they should, if there was any justice in the world.

But if you want a more specific direction on red, stick with a wine from France. As the saying goes, things that grow together should be served together. Boeuf Bourguignon was created in France and originally used Burgundy red wine. Burgundies are too pricey for most of us now so go for a Côtes du Rhône.

PAIR Pumpkin Soup WITH Gewurztraminer

Like riesling, you have two options with Gewurztraminer: dry or off-dry. But unlike riesling, Gewurztraminer tends to have a spicy kick to it! Perfect for a hot cup of pumpkin soup. If you’re creating a spicier or more curried approach, lean into the sweeter choice. But if you’re focusing on a savory first course pumpkin soup, stick with a drier version!

PAIR Duck Confit WITH Syrah/Shiraz

Red Burgundy is an excellent choice for duck confit, but it can be a little pricey. Syrah/Shiraz is the budget version. That isn’t to say it’s less delicious. (One of my personal favorites actually.)

Syrah has a dark fruit and hot spice character to it, which helps cut through all of that heavy fat while still complementing duck’s natural flavors.

Need a white? A textured white wine like Grüner Veltliner won’t get lost in the intense flavor and high fat content in duck!