Think autumn, think Piedmont – wine from ‘the foot of the mountain’
By the time this column comes out, it will be Big Coat weather, so those collars will be getting higher and the scarves thicker.And, when there’s a chill in the air, I like to eat food than leans towards smoky and earthy flavours: charred vegetables, stews, sausages and mushroom everything.The Guardian’s journalism is independent.We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link.Learn more.
For this type of cooking and living, I tend to turn to north-west Italian reds, particularly those from Piedmont,You’ll find a range of wine styles in this region – Gavi di Gavi and moscato d’Asti are both made here – but there’s something about its red wines that I find helplessly alluring and seductive,The word Piedmont means “at the foot of the mountain”, a reference to its proximity to the Alps, and its wines are of international renown, even though they make up only a tiny fraction (less than 5%) of Italy’s total production,Demand for them is high, so expect prices to start a little higher, too (apologies in advance),Nebbiolo is perhaps Piedmont’s most famous red grape, and it’s often compared to pinot noir on account of it being similarly tricky to grow and its susceptibility to disease; it can also possess a pinot-like lightness in colour, with an expressive, complex nose.
I’m very sensitive to its smell of rose petals, which seem to jump out of the glass,Derived from nebbia, the Italian word for fog (perhaps due to the fact that, in winter, especially, mist collects in the hills of Piedmont), nebbiolo makes up 100% of the globally celebrated barolo and barbaresco wines,You’ll also find barbera, the most widely planted grape in Piedmont, with some of the most iconic examples found around Asti and Alba,Barbera is just as capable of producing age-worthy, elegant and earthy wines, but even so you get a sense that it tends always to play second fiddle to nebbiolo,That said, that’s also why barbera is often a fair bit cheaper.
The dolcetto grape is even more under-appreciated, but in my book it offers just as much as its two more lauded siblings,You’re more likely to find and drink dolcettos when they’re young, being low in both acid and alcohol, because they’re not generally considered as age-worthy (though there are exceptions to every rule),Their finely meshed tannic structure makes them a great food match, though,Speaking of food matches, I asked Liam Colucci of Raeburn Fine Wines for advice, not least because he’s a) Italian and b) a lover of a fine wine BYOB,“Piemonte is blessed with perfect hazelnuts, truffles and mushrooms, and it’s as if the local wine is made for such dishes.
For barolo, I love agnolotti with a guinea fowl filling, married with fresh ceps and a glossy sauce made from reduced stock.Barbera, meanwhile, pairs wonderfully with vitello tonnato – the like-for-like acid is electric.”M&S Araldica Barbera d’Asti £9.50 Ocado, 14.5%.
Oak adds spice and complements the fruity cherry notes.Made by a winemaking cooperative in the Asti region that works with 230 growers.GD Vajra Dolcetto d’Alba £16 The Wine Society, 12%.A core of blue fruit brings a graphite coolness.Il Poeta Barolo £22 Laithwaites, 14%.
For affordable barolo, you’ll struggle to do much better.Perfumed and aromatic.Cantina del Nebbiolo Nebbiolo d’Alba £14 Waitrose, 14.5%.Smoky, spicy, plummy – and perfect for the coming months; 100% nebbiolo from a winemaking cooperative.
England 33-19 New Zealand: Autumn Nations Series player ratings
Freddie StewardSupreme up and under early on, his aerial work was clearly causing New Zealand problems before head injury ended his involvement after 22 minutes. 6Tom Roebuck Big tackle on Fainga’anuku forced early turnover and repeatedly demonstrated his talents in the air. Deserved his try for his endeavour. 8Ollie Lawrence Produced a strong finish just when England needed to get on the scoreboard. Big turnover to boot
England 33-19 New Zealand: Autumn Nations Series rugby union – as it happened
I’ll be back later for Ireland vs Australia, thanks for your company for this match.Here is the full match reportAll the chat on TV post match is about how England will wish they were playing South Africa next week, as it’s important to test yourself against the best and so on. This a very dismissive of a capable Argentina team who are certainly playing better than the All Blacks this Autumn.“Can we please give Roebuck his dues for that pick up for the final try?” begs Brendan Large. “I have not heard anyone say a word about it
Fantastic Ford steers battling England past All Blacks in Twickenham thriller
A perfect 10 wins in a row is a reliable indicator of a team on the rise. What England really craved, though, was a statement victory to underline just how far they have come in the past 18 months or so. And on a dull grey November afternoon they finally secured it, beating a disappointed New Zealand for the first time in south-west London for 13 long years.They deserved it, too, storming back from 12-0 down to claim the kind of result that rewards all the painstaking hard work of both the players and the management. There were four English tries in all, including two in the final half hour from Fraser Dingwall and Tom Roebuck, as Steve Borthwick’s team become only the ninth England side to cut the All Blacks down to size
Sinner extends indoor dominance with win over De Minaur to reach ATP World Tour final
Jannik Sinner continued his total dominance of the indoor season as he held off an admirable early challenge from Alex de Minaur before bulldozing his path into the ATP Finals for a third consecutive year with a supreme 7-5, 6-2 victory, extending his winning record against the Australian to 13-0.Sinner continues to perform at an astounding level that has allowed him to rapidly rise the list of all-time great’s. In a season that included a three-month doping ban between February and May, Sinner will attempt to win his sixth ATP title of the year in his 10th final. The 24-year-old has won 30 consecutive indoor hard court matches and 14 matches in a row after his recent triumphs at the Vienna Open and Paris Masters. He has also won 18 consecutive sets at the ATP Finals
Panic Attack’s Gold Cup victory at Cheltenham a boost for Skelton’s title hopes
If Dan Skelton’s time to scale jump racing’s summit has finally arrived, horses like Panic Attack, a nine-year-old mare and the trainer’s first winner of the Paddy Power Gold Cup, will feel as significant as Grade One victories when it comes to the final reckoning.All but three or four of the dozen runners in Saturday’s race, the first big handicap chase of the season, were still in with a chance as they ran down the hill for the final time, but it was Panic Attack, at 6-1, who found the better turn of foot from the last after jumping it half-a-length behind Vicenzo, the favourite.Her four-length success added £91,000 to Skelton’s 2025-26 total, taking him within sight of £1.2m for the campaign, and even if it proves to be Panic Attack’s only contribution to the cause, it should still be enough to make her one of Skelton’s top-10 earners this season.Skelton’s closest pursuer at this stage of the title race is Olly Murphy, who has scarcely half of the leader’s total, and it is highly likely that Skelton will build an even bigger lead over the next three months
Ollie Pope cements claim to England’s No 3 slot with bold 90 against Lions
It is hard to know how much of England’s warm-up game will be remotely relevant when their Ashes campaign begins 10km away at Perth Stadium on Friday. It is no distance in space or time but light years away in import and atmosphere and if it achieved nothing more than boosting Ollie Pope’s confidence, that alone has made the exercise worthwhile.England’s No 3 – his place in the first XI is now surely certain – followed his first-innings century against the Lions by scoring another 90 in the second. What was impressive was not so much the number of runs but the manner in which they were scored. At times the 27-year-old looked imperious, hitting a dozen fours and a pair of sixes, timing the ball sweetly but with devilish intent
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