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Changing Colors Of Wine Autumn wines change with the seasons... By Jonathon Alsop September 21,2005 Botanists understand the shortening days of fall -- or is it the lengthening nights? -- are the trigger to deciduous trees to cut off their leaves. New England especially is home to many out-of-foliage experiences. They change color as they die flamboyantly and dry on the branch, replaced by nothing till next year. Our wine drinking changes color in the fall as well. Light, bright, cool whites and even the pink wines of summer somehow require hot weather to make them interesting. Open one on a cool, foggy, drizzly day, and all the charm suddenly disappears, like putting up the top of a convertible. Brawny, stony red wines lose their composure when it gets hot, and the cooler weather seems to settle them down. Cooled, rested, and pulled together, body-builder reds are comfortable by the fireplace. I used to think this was natural, because fall and winter brought on heartier foods and more red meat. True, we rarely cook anything in the oven all summer long, but let's be honest: we eat hearty year 'round, and there's no shortage of red meat in the house or on the grill. These days, I have a new theory: I just don't see drinking white wine after the sun goes down, and the red wine hours are inevitably eating into the white wine hours. It may not be science, but it's what happens. 2004 Ted The Mule Syrah Grenache (about $10, even less on sale, available nationally from Cannon Wines, 415-394-6454) This wine is fun, maybe even more fun than getting kicked by a stubborn mule. "Tete de mule" in French means literally mule-headed, but idiomatically, it means pig-headed, or stubborn. For me, the bucking Ted on the label represents the feeling I have every year of being dragged kicking out of summer into fall and winter, a thing I never would have thought up on my own. This wine is from the southern Rhone in France, just a couple of miles north of Avignon. Ventoux is the name of a mountain that rises dramatically from the Rhone Valley floor, and the hills (cotes) are covered with vineyards. Chateauneuf-du-Pape is right nearby, and in fact, this is the entry-level product of the super-famous Caves des Papes. Syrah and grenache are traditional blending partners in this part of France, and this collaboration is simultaneous sunny, juicy, garnet red on the one hand, with dense black brooding fruit on the other. It will be perfect with the oxtail cinnamon stew I am planning for my father's 70th birthday dinner. Good Question Q: In your articles, you always say where the wine is available or who it's distributed by, this company or that company. If my regular wine shop doesn't have it though, how do I find a certain wine? -- GBM, via email from Corbin VA A: Information in the tasting note -- at least a company name and a number -- should put you or your local wine shop a phone call or two away from someone who knows where to buy the wine in your area. If you want to do all the work yourself, just call the number and say to the importer or distributor, "I'm a big fat rich wine lover, and I want to buy your wine, and lots of it!" You'll have a first name and a cell phone number so fast you won't believe it. Or, just give the number to your regular shop and let them call. Either way, your wine shop wants very much to carry what you want to buy, so they should have no problem getting something you ask for. Wine brokers, distributors, importers, representatives, salespeople, retailers, wholesalers and providers are all about connecting you and your money with their wines. If you ask for it outright, you're frankly doing more than half the job for them.

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