The evenings are shorter; the nights are colder. A snap of cool air has started to rattle the dying leaves as they cling, for now, to the creaking limbs of their trees. Gone are the fruits of summer, supplanted by colorful gourds and golden grains. Time to cozy up with some wines that are worthy companions to this changing of the season!

Rocklands Farm 'Fieldwork'
Virginia (by way of Maryland)
Rockland Farms (direct)
Regular: $31.99
SALE: $24.99

October is Virginia Wine Month, so let's take this opportunity in the first chilly month to look to our warmer neighbors in the south. Global warming has made Virginia a sub-tropical climate with many hot, humid summer days. Enter Petite Manseng, an often overlooked white grape from the warm South of France. Often, when choosing a white wine, one must choose between a crisp, refreshing acidity or layered texture and complexity. Not so with Petite Manseng, which somehow, miraculously combines the bracing acidity of a Sauvignon Blanc, the nutty depth of Viognier, and the tropical fruit sparkle of Vermentino. Truly a renaissance grape.


Rockland Farms is a low intervention winery in Poolesville, Maryland with vineyards in Loudoun County, Virginia. The winery employs regenerative farming practices and public education events to cultivate both the environment and their community. This holistic philosophy carries through to their winemaking, eschewing commercial yeasts or added sulfites in favor of long, slow fermentations driven by the native yeast living on the grapes. A warm summer in 2023 lead to ripe grapes with plenty of sugar, resulting in a relatively robust 13.5% alcohol. A portion of the juice was soaked in the grape skins for a period of days, contributing to the texture and pale gold color of the wine. Look for notes of cooked apples with cinnamon, hazelnuts, and pear on the front of the palate, followed by a long finish with notes of white peach and pineapple. Enjoy!
-Abigail Dahlke

Matteo Correggia 'Anthos'
Piedmont, Italy
Revolution Wine Co | Passion Distributing
Regular: $24.99

SALE: $19.99

Matteo Correggia took control of his father’s land in 1985, and promptly set about trying to define his idiosyncratic style for Roero wines. His goal was to elevate the international appeal of Roero wines in line with the Barolo and Barbaresco while maintaining a gentler, nimbler style that differentiates these wines in accordance with the local terroir. Other Piedmont producers were quick to take note of his ambitious style, and he soon became the first non-Barolo producer welcomed to the trailblazing “Barolo Boys”.

Correggia’s Anthos is a style of wine rarely seen Stateside: a varietal wine of Brachetto that is both still and dry – a stark contrast to most Piedmont Brachettos that are often more generally referred to as “roscato” for their sweet, fizzy style reminiscent of Moscato. The grapes come from primarily sandy soil with modest altitude. The sandy soil tends to create lighter bodied wines with mouth-watering acidity and soft, gossamer tannins.

This vintage of Anthos is perfect for the unseasonably warm Autumn we’ve had thus far: lighter in body, but exploding with succulent, juicy fruit. Aromas of violets, rose petals, gentian, and crushed wild berries exude enthusiastically from the glass. Notes of wild strawberries, pomegranate, macerated rhubarb, candied cranberries, and Maraschino cherries cavort across the palate. The finish is bright, punchy, and piquant with touches of dewy sous bois and fresh herbs. Truly, one of the more unique red wines you will try, and the perfect companion to this transitional season!
-Andrew Sayers

Askaneli 'Saperavi Qvevri'

Georgia (European Republic)

Georgian Wine and Spirits LLC | Lanterna

Regular: $20.99

SALE: $16.99

Being a sucker for anything pumpkin spiced, I associate October with warm spice flavors. A delicious red wine that embodies that for me is Askaneli's Saperavi Qvevri from Georgia's famed Kakheti region. While not yet a widely known international varietal, Saperavi's concentrated juicy purple fruit flavors and pepper spice can be compared to Syrah or Malbec. These wines are usually made in a low-intervention, low-sulfur way, but they also generally drink very clean. Natural wine lovers who are suspicious of anything too funky or barnyard should seek them out. They are often made using a traditional Georgian winemaking technique of fermenting and aging in handmade clay amphorae vessels called 'qvevri" that are buried in the ground up to their necks. Unbelievably, this exact technique has been used in Georgia, uninterrupted, for the past 8000 years!

The Askaneli winery grows their Saperavi in Kakheti: a region on Georgia's eastern end encompassing two river basins just south of the Caucasus mountains. The wine is aged 6 months in the aforementioned qvevri and a further 6 months in bottle. This long maturation helps to bring out complexity and soften Saperavi's prominent tannins. The finished wine is on the lighter and juicier end for Saperavi with just 13% alcohol, but it has a complexity that belies its sub-$20 price tag. It explodes from the glass with notes of blueberry jam, red cherries, and violets, savory notes of black pepper, bay leaf, and cocoa, and an earthy aroma reminiscent of wet clay. Velvet tannins round out the mouthfeel and prominent acidity on the finish keeps the wine lively and food-friendly. Try this bottle with roast lamb, charred burgers, spiced Mediterranean, or Middle Eastern dishes.
-Benjamin Glass

Soter Vineyards 'Planet Oregon'

Willamette Valley, Oregon

Roanoke Valley Wine Company

Regular: $27.99

SALE: $21.99

For the October Wine Source newsletter, I have selected my favorite go-to Pinot Noir: Planet Oregon by Soter Vineyards. Tony Soter is the founder of Soter Vineyards at Mineral Springs Ranch in Yamhill-Carlton, Oregon. Soter is a Portland, Oregon, native who began his impressive 40-year winemaking career in the Napa Valley. After graduating from Pomona College in California, Soter joined the staff at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars in 1975 to learn the winemaking business. By 1982, he released his own wine under the Etude label, selling the winery almost 20 years later to Treasury Wine Estates. In the meantime, Soter worked as consulting winemaker for world-famous Napa wineries such as Araujo (now Eisele), Chappellet, Dalla Valle, Shafer, and Spottswoode. After almost 30 years in California, Soter moved back to Oregon and founded Soter Vineyards in 1997 where he is still making some of the most respected pinot noirs in the state. Today, Soter focuses on biodynamic winemaking to create rich flavors and character. There are three unique labels produced by Soter:

1.   Soter Vineyards - Estate-grown wines from Eola Amity, Ribbon Ridge, and Yamhill Carlton (where the Mineral Springs vineyard, farm, and winery are).

2.   Origin Series - Limited single-appellation bottlings showcasing each viticultural area's unique microclimate, geographical features, and growing conditions. 

3.   Planet Oregon - affordable, delicious, organically-grown wines from the Willamette Valley, ready for immediate consumption. Soter donates 1% of all Planet Oregon sales to environmental causes.

The Planet Oregon Pinot Noir offers incredible quality for value. Its flavor/aroma profile leans slightly more towards the fruiter, California-style Pinot rather than a leaner, Burgundian style. This nicely concentrated, medium-bodied Pinot features cherry, pomegranate, blueberry and raspberry fruit aromas/favors. There are moderate, well-balanced tannins with subtle black tea and woody notes. The acidity is perfectly balanced, and this wine is poised to accompany a wide array of dishes including, but not limited to duck, beef, salmon, cheeses, charcuterie, mushrooms, and turkey. ( Grab a few extra for Thanksgiving! ) The label, with the black silhouette of tall pine trees against the silver backdrop shaped like the state of Oregon, conjures a subtle spookiness that's perfect for Halloween as well. Cheers!
-Dan Zetlmeisl

Viña Ijalba Crianza

Rioja, Spain

Williams Corner Wine | Passion Distributing

Regular: $21.99

SALE: $17.99

The transitional energy of Autumn is quite profound. We’ve run around busy all summer, but we aren't yet in the freeze of winter: Fall allows us the process of slowing down.

Viña Ijalba’s Crianza is my choice of wine to begin settling into the cold while still reflecting on the heat of Summer’s lessons. I find it a distinguished representation of modern, extroverted styles of Rioja that still contain depth of tradition. This Crianza is a blend of 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano that, after cool fermentation, sees 12 months in barrel followed by another 12 months in bottle. 

Viña Ijalba uses American oak, the trademark of Rioja, to mature their wines. It is becoming less common to follow this tradition as producers can use high-impact, brand new French oak and mature wines for a shorter period to save time and cut production costs while tailoring to new-world palates. Aging in the classic, small American barrels imparts notes of baking spice, vanilla, dill, and coconut which layer so beautifully with the cherry, blackberry and leather of Tempranillo. It is the harmony of such combinations that makes this bottle so charming. 

Viña Ijalba was founded as a winery in 1991 almost 20 years after Dionisio Ruiz Ijalba planted his first vineyard in 1975. He built the vineyards by adding layers of poor soils reminiscent of the Rioja region atop a former open-cast mine, itself well exhausted. The winery is now 90 hectares wide reaching Logroño, San Vicente de la Sonsierra and Valle del Iregua. Now under control of its 3rd generation, the family of Viña Ijalba are pioneers in crafting quality organic wines and preserving the integrity of native Rioja grapes. 

This Crianza has warming qualities of cedar, tobacco and allspice highlighted by mouth-watering stewed strawberries and tomato leaf. It would be perfect with Spanish charcuterie: Semi-Curado Manchego, Idiazabal, Jamón Serrano, and Chorizo El Rey.
-Dayna Palmer

Chateau Yvonne 'La Folie' 

Saumur-Champigny, Loire, France

Elite Wines

Regular: $37.99

SALE: $29.99


My fall wine selection comes from Chateau Yvonne: an historic property that dates to the 16th century, but whose wine production started more recently in 1813. The property contains 8 hectares of Cabernet Franc and 3 hectares of Chenin Blanc spread across 30 biodynamically-farmed parcels scattered throughout the village of Parnay.


Chateau Yvonne's “La Folie” Saumur-Champigny comprises hand-harvested Cabernet Franc from over 10 different vineyards consisting of clay and limestone soil and vines between 15 and 50 years of age. Fermentation occurs in concrete vats with natural yeast over the course of 4 weeks. Half of the wine is aged in 38 hectoliters foudres, while the other half is matured in 4 to 5 year old barriques for 12 months.


This wine shines as an example of Cabernet Franc from the Loire for under $30. Medium-fine tannins and bright acidity show potential for aging a few additional years, but the wine is quite approachable currently. There are aromas of black cherry, bramble, barely-roasted pepper, with hints of licorice and cassis. On the palate, more of the same with ripe raspberry, black cherry, a touch of pyrazines, graphite, licorice, and a lingering, resinous quality.


As for pairings: mushroom dishes, braised dishes, roast leg of lamb, duck or goose, as well as any hearty dish consisting of cooked tomato.

-Matthew Supik

Mundo Reves 'Le Petit Voyage'

Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

Brazos Wine Imports | Potomac Selections

Regular: $19.99

SALE: $12.99

Many of my favorite wines are those that are initially shocking. I especially love the surprise of being fooled by a wine ─ the cognitive dissonance that arises from the discrepancy between nose and palate. A Nebbiolo may smell of tar and black licorice, but, when tasted, can be startlingly light and delicate, laced through with fresh red berry fruit. Perhaps my favorite example is dry Muscat- expressing such ripe, floral aromas that you are one hundred percent certain that the wine will be sweet- only to find your mouth bone-dry, full of stone and herbs.


The ’Le Petit Voyage’ 2023 Criolla from Mundo Reves is of this camp. The nose is all Fall- faintly musty dried leaves, craisins, leather, dried red cherries. (Though there is a dash of summer in there- a little fresh watermelon). Some of these flavors continue over to the palate where a bit of winter spice and some orange peel enter in, surrounded by fresh clementine, raspberry, and red licorice. The comforting Fall aromas are a beautiful juxtaposition (that lovely cognitive dissonance) to the more fresh red fruits and citrus on palate. Yet, it is the texture and body of the wine that provide real contrast to the nose. This is a chillable red: bright, crisp, and long, with just the most faint tannic grip. I find it incredibly easy to drink, refreshing, and the perfect balance between easy and intriguing.


The Petit Voyage is made from Criolla Chica, also known as Pais or Mission. This fascinating grape was the first European variety to be planted in the Americas (brought over by Conquistadors in the 1500s!) It is still grown on the Canary Islands, where Spanish ships picked it up en route to South America. No cuttings could survive the journey in its entirety, but, because Criolla was already established on the canaries, it could stay alive for the shorter trip to the Americas. Overlooked for hundreds of years as a producer of cheap tavern wine, this variety is finally getting the respect it deserves.


Thibault and Quentin, two French friends, are the winemakers. Their Mundo Reves project focuses on using low intervention techniques: protecting wine through natural methods such as lees, stems, and skin-contact rather than relying on chemicals such as sulfur. (The Petit Voyage, though a red wine, has the lees of Pinot Gris added!) They also seek out incredible terroir, such as the desert-like, high-altitude alluvial cone of Los Chacayes, nestled in the center of Argentina’s Uco Valley, (Within Mendoza) from which comes Petit Voyage’s fruit.

Le Petit Voyage smells like Fall, tastes like Late Summer, pairs with most everything, reflects an incredible grape and excellent winemaking, and is delicious at an amazing price. Enjoy :)

-Kasimir Bujak