The warm weather has finally broken, and wine merchant Sadie Wilkins is reaching for her jumpers – and a satisfying glass of something comforting

The nights are darker, golden leaves are falling from trees and there’s a chill in the air – woolly jumper season is officially here. With hearty autumnal dishes back on the menu, it’s time to pour a tipple that feels cosy, warming and all things nice.
Despite the common misconception that high alcohol content is the only route to tingly warmth, you can in fact achieve that satisfying comfort from a variety of wine styles – some more unexpected than others.
Many structural components of wine are responsible for its reassuring embrace – from generous, ripe fruit and thick-skinned tannins to lees contact (wait for it – Ed) wines and fermentation processes – not to mention the usual ‘hits’ of terroir, climate, and grape variety. As I often say, there’s a lot going on in any bottle of wine, it’s just a matter of discovering what variables work for you – and at what time. Wine is subjective, after all.
With that said, you shouldn’t be surprised to see some ‘big reds’ on our winter warmer wine list; a brooding glass that will bring a bang to not just your bonfire night celebrations, such as Napa Valley Cabernets, Northern Rhônes and Reserva Riojas.

Fortified and fabulous
Less conventional – but just as hearty – are generous white wines that bring unctuous flavour and creamy texture with elegance and ease. We’re talking over-ripe Viogniers that are dripping in stone-fruit lusciousness, and oak-fermented Chardonnays that invite vanilla and coconut to the winter party.
There’s also a lot of fresher wine styles and varieties that are being produced with lees contact too. The ‘lees’ are the leftover yeast particles from fermentation, and when the wine is left in contact with them you get a bucket load of creamy texture and buttery flavour. White wines made this way are like stepping into a French patisserie and indulging in a fine pastry or beautiful brioche.
Now we’re in the realms of pure indulgence, we may as well move on to my other go-to wines that simply deliver at this time of year: port and pudding wines. Fortified and fabulous, port wine is one of Portugal’s greatest gifts. From ruby, LBV and tawny to vintage, colheita and white (and everything in between) there’s a comforting richness from port that you just don’t get anywhere else. Take a flask of port to your firework display, and I promise you’ll not regret it.
And last but never least, pudding wines. The golden rule with dessert wine is to make sure the sugar content of the wine exceeds that of your dessert. After this, it’s great fun to explore and discover your perfect pud pairings. I’ll leave you with some tried and tested combinations to get you going: chocolate and Sauternes, an Auslese with anything red berries (my favourite is an Eton mess, but very berry trifles and pavlovas also hit the spot) and how about a Tokaji Aszu with a caramelised apple tart?
If you want to get ‘winter ready’ and fancy trying out some of the season’s best, we’ve put together some themed wine cases to tickle your taste buds. Give us a call or simply pop by to our Sherborne wine shop – oh, and don’t forget your mittens.

Find Sadie and the Vineyards team at
The Old Yarn Mills, 9 Westbury, Sherborne DT9 3RQ; they’re open Tuesday to Saturday.

Dorset is known as a natural larder, from meat to dairy and cakes to veg. Caz Richards of Dorset Food & Drink suggests some seasonal favourites

Autumn is something that famous poets, authors and I all agree on:
“The first fire since the summer is lit, and is smoking into the room: The sun-rays thread it through, like woof-lines in a loom.”
(tip hat to Thomas Hardy).
Autumn is about switching up the salads, adding a warm dressing and swapping the crisp dry white wines and blonde beers for ruby reds and nutty ales, as we hunker down with all the comforting food and drink.
It’s always a delight to see the season’s bounty studding market stalls and shops or turned into preserves, cider, and juices.
And never mind the shops – who doesn’t love the thrill of passing a gate or front door where jewel-coloured preserves vie for space among a box of apples, pears, pumpkins, squash, onions, and earthy beetroot, waiting for coins to drop into the honesty box?

That time of year
Eating what’s currently in season is a no-brainer – it makes sense for both our purses and our palates with the abundance of big flavours and rich colours bursting with vitamins and all the good stuff.
If you like the hustle and bustle of a market, you can of course always support local producers by purchasing your seasonal fruit, veg, meat and fish there.
But you can also pick up lots of local produce from smaller independent shops and some supermarkets.
Dorset Food & Drink has got you covered for your autumnal bonfire-night bangers, drinks and sweet treats.
Our seasonal meat picks: The Dorset Meat Company, Jurassic Coast Farm Shop and B.Curtis Family Butchers. Venison steaks, burgers and sausages make a great healthy and hearty option, so our wild card choice is from Taste of the Wild.
Add a dash of relish or chutney to seasonal faves from this lovely lot: Deelicious Chilli Jam, From Dorset with Love and Weymouth 51.
For your cheese course, how about some Buckshaw Milk Sheep or a tasty selection from The Book & Bucket Cheese Company?
Dorset Artisan Macarons will bring a splash of colour and Chococo will satisfy anyone’s chocolate craving!
Our Autumn must-try drinks: Curious Kombucha, Dorset Ginger, Dorset Star Cider and these cheeky little numbers from Cerne Abbas Brewery –Watercress Warrior, Mrs Vale’s Ale and Ginger Fox.
Before you know it, it’ll be time to think about Christmas and planning your festive menus …

Two recipes this month – and they’re both personal favourites which feature regularly as part of our family meals. Both are simple to whip up, taking 30 to 45 minutes from start to finish; perfect to pull together for a wonderful autumnal weekend evening meal with family or friends.
The Toad in the Hole recipe is one I have used for years, but of course there are many versions of a Yorkshire pudding – some with water and milk, some with more eggs, some with much less flour. This recipe tends to produce Yorkshire puddings that have a crispy top and bottom, and a thick pudding-like middle. If you prefer a lighter Yorkshire, then just use 2 or 3oz less flour.
The Sausage and Baked Bean Pie recipe is so simple, with just three ingredients, and I use ready-made
pastry on purpose. I don’t think the hour or more spent making the puff pastry from scratch
is worth the extra effort for something that takes just five delicious minutes to scoff down! – Heather

Sausage and Baked Bean Pie

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 8 sausages
• Two 400g tins of baked beans
• 1 packet of ready rolled puff pastry
• 1 egg to egg wash or some milk.

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to gas 6/200º/180º fan.
2. Slice the skins of the sausages and remove the sausage meat.
3. Break the now-skinless sausages into small pieces, about 2cm long, and place them into an ovenproof dish.
4. Tip into the dish the baked beans and stir together.
5. Carefully unroll the pastry from its packet and place over the top, pressing down the edges.
6. Make a small hole in the centre.
7. Brush with beaten egg or milk.
8. Bake for 25 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and golden.

Toad in the Hole

The name may refer to the way toads wait for their prey in their burrows, making their heads visible in the earth, just like the sausages peep through the batter.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 2tbsp oil
• 8 sausages
• 2 eggs
• 9oz plain flour (I use 00 grade flour)
• about 200ml milk

Directions

1. Pour the oil into the base of your oven proof dish which needs to be large enough to fit the sausages with about an inch of space around each one. Place the dish with the oil into the oven so the oil gets hot.
2. Into a large bowl, measure out the flour and then add the two eggs. Pour in about a third of the milk and whisk together, making sure to get rid of all the lumps of flour.
3. Add the milk to the mix, a splosh at a time, whisking in between, until the mixture is the consistency of a good milkshake. It doesn’t need to be an exact science here though – a thicker mixture simply results in a stodgier Yorkshire pudding. Eggs aren’t all the same weight, so if 200ml of milk is still too thick, then add a bit more. If you end up with something that is more the consistency of water, just add a little flour to thicken it back up a bit.
4. Carefully take out the hot dish from the oven and place the sausages, equally spaced, into the dish.
5. Pour the Yorkshire batter over the sausages.
6. Place back into the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes until golden and crispy on the top.
7. Serve immediately!