I know the autumn season, especially here on Long Island, is most people’s favorite season. The temperatures dropping, the leaves changing, pumpkin spice everything, Halloween, switching from swimsuits to sweater weather. But it’s not my favorite season. I like the weather hot, and the days long. I wish the summer could go on forever. However, there is one thing that does offer me solace as we move away from my favorite season, and that’s the changeover from lighter, brighter summer wines to the richer deeper fall wines.

Let’s start with the McCall Reserve Chardonnay 2021. This is probably the perfect wine to transition from summer to fall. It’s white, but it’s also rich with a luscious mouth feel. Rarely do I feel that the tasting notes are exactly what I experience when I taste a wine, as all palates are different, but the notes for this wine on the McCall Wines website are pretty spot on. Aged for 14 months in year-old French oak barrels, this wine has hints of toast, vanilla, apple, pear, and almond. This is a wine that almost calls for roasted corn, but you can also easily enjoy it with chicken, pasta with white or light sauces, and maybe with a little bit of candy corn you put aside from that trick-or-treating candy stash. It retails for $39 but, quite honestly, it rivals even the best California Chardonnays.

Next, we have Pindar Vineyards’ Gamay Noir 2025. This wine retails for $25.99. The grape varietal Gamay is a natural cross between pinot noir and the ancient gouais blanc grape. It is also the star of Beaujolais nouveau. The famed Beaujolais nouveau is released from the Beaujolais region of France for consumption on the third Thursday of November. The grape shares its lighter-bodied tendencies with pinot noir. Unlike its cousin grape pinot noir, Gamay tends to be fruitier, brighter, and juicier with a celebratory quality to the wine. Pindar’s beautiful Gamay Noir 2025 is a versatile way to welcome fall in all its forms. It can be served chilled on a hot fall day, it can be enjoyed at room temperature, and, on Pindar’s website pindar.net/product/2025-gamay-noir/ there is a recipe to enjoy it warmed as a mulled wine. This wine would pair well with many of the courses served with Thanksgiving dinner. And, unlike Beaujolais nouveau, we can all start enjoying it now.

Rounding out our fall list we have two wines from Bridge Lane Wine. The first is Bridge Lane Pinot Noir 2023. I thoroughly enjoyed this pinot noir. In fact, the one problem pinot noir lovers might have with this wine is stopping at one glass. It’s so fruit forward and deliciously jammy on the front of the palate while still being wonderfully dry on the finish it just keeps you going back for more. It retails for only $22 and is destined to become one of my go-to wines this season. Full disclosure: This wine is sourced from France.

The last wine is the Bridge Lane Red Blend 2022. This is a blend is crafted from 30% cabernet franc, 26% Teroldego, 18% syrah, 12% lagrein, and12% merlot. This wine retails for $22 and would appeal to red-blend fans who enjoy dry red blends. It is smooth and balanced with forward notes of red fruits, and hints of anise and dark chocolate.

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