Best-case scenario: Wines for every occasion

There's no wrong time for a wine. Styles and grapes are so subjective it’s impossible to predict who prefers what, where and when. And yet, it’s a proven (well okay, anecdotal) fact that certain styles of wines lend themselves better to certain types of occasions.

While price might always be a leading factor when choosing a bottle, where we are and who we’re with is also fundamental to which bottle slides out of the rack. 

Let’s start with celebrations. If you’re on a bit of a budget (or catering for a crowd), how could it be anything other than crémant? Since the very first one – Crémant de Loire – was designated in 1975, it’s been a rip-roaringly successful style. The quality is undeniable: grapes must be hand harvested, rules on maximum yields and gentle whole bunch pressing apply, and they’re made in the traditional method.

Crémants are a smart choice for celebrations on a budget or catering for a crowd.

Even so, crémants generally don’t stay on lees for much longer than 18 months, which is when autolysis really kicks in, so they typically have a lighter flavour than fellow trad-method sparklers. This makes them more fruity and therefore less divisive, and yet it’s still a supremely smart drink in that celebration moment. 

How about a summer staple? When the sun is beating down and good times are ahead, it’s more than worth stocking up on good Provençal rosé. Dry, refreshing, versatile, complex and just as good by itself as it is with food, there’s almost too much to recommend it as the go-to drink in the sunny season. The food-matching possibilities of a good dry rosé are endless – even garlic, an ingredient that’s prolific in summer dishes from salads to meat rubs to bread, is a lifelong friend of Provençal rosé. 

The Bandol appellation is an especially great choice for those looking for complexity in their summer sipping. Typically, it’s a step up in price – although usually worth it – on account of its stricter production rules, which include lower yields and a higher minimum proportion of mourvèdre.

Rosé – particularly from Provence – is a summer staple.

Unannounced dinner guest? Be prepared with a few well-sourced bottles of cabernet franc. It’s the ultimate great wine to serve at the eleventh hour no matter who’s arrived on the doorstep. It’s smart and has pretty moderate acidity and tannins, which means it pairs extremely well with all kinds of dishes from heavier roast meats to lighter plant-based food.

Loire cabernet franc is especially appealing because it is more approachable and less tannic than other versions. Appellations such as Chinon, Saumur and Saumur-Champigny are really at the hub of great cab franc, although other stellar examples can be found in Bourgueil and Saint-Nicolas de Bourgueil. This is also one of those wines you can buy and drink or buy and leave in the rack, because while they taste delicate and aromatic in their youth, they also taste wonderful with a few years on the clock.

Looking to put a smile on someone’s face? Finding happiness in a glass of good wine is not difficult if you’re a bit of a wine buff, but to other people it isn’t always so easy (apparently). Put forward a sweet, luscious wine with vim and vigour so appetising you’d have to be made of stone for it not to make you smile.

Pair seafood with friulano or other Italian white wines. 

A sweeter wine triggers the pleasure receptors so it inherently feels like a treat, while its luscious energy is uplifting and the sheer indulgence makes it feel like a special occasion. Or, it makes our taste buds think dessert is on its way, and who wouldn’t smile about that? Italy is a sweet wine haven, including its lighter-touch sweet wines like Moscato d’Asti (my go-to Christmas morning wine) whose sweet purity is lightened with a touch of effervescence and supremely low alcohol. 

Looking to up your seafood wine game? Poor old seafood is often matched to some seriously ‘yawn’ wines so it’s time to branch out to Italy, which has seafood-matching prospects in spades, particularly in Friuli, whose tangy, fresh wines with breezy salinity make a dream seafood match. A grape like friulano is the perfect example: lively and fruity with notes of citrus, honeysuckle and almond, together with some cool minerality.

Treat day? Pay day? For some it’s a cigar, for others it’s chocolate, but for most readers of Halliday I imagine, the ultimate treat comes in the form of epic wine, and if that’s on the cards, go nebbiolo shopping immediately. Up there with pinot noir, nebbiolo is the sigh-in-the-glass option of the modern-day drinker. It’s the one to sink back into the proverbial armchair and melt into the moment. It is both elegant and compelling, rare yet attainable, alluringly aromatic, and capable of translating the terroir well from grape to glass, plus it delivers a level of sophistication that’s both exciting and reassuring. Yes, nebbiolo from the hilly slopes of Piedmont is a treat for anyone with a modicum of good taste, surely?

Cabernet franc is the ultimate wine to serve at the eleventh hour.

12 wines to suit a range of occasions

NV Langlois-Château Crémant de Loire, France
12.5%. RRP 49, drink by 2028
Crazy value for money on this vibrant, vanilla-ish crémant made à la Champagne using 60 per cent chenin blanc and then equal parts cabernet franc and chardonnay. Creamy, zesty, lively and nutty, with brioche richness to finish.

Gratien & Meyer Crémant de Loire, France
12% alc. RRP 27, drink by 2028
Ahh, Gratien & Meyer – a little a jewel in the Anjou-Saumur crown. This chenin blanc, cabernet franc and chardonnay combination make an effortlessly gluggable fizz with peach and ripe pear characters.

2024 Domaine des Diables Bonbon Rosé, Côtes de Provence Sainte-Victoire, France
13% alc. RRP 53, drink by 2027
A sublime blend of classic Provençal grapes, with cinsault making up the lion’s share alongside syrah and a cheeky drop of grenache. This level of rosé – dry, textured, complex, food friendly – is the epitome of pink pleasure. Great before, during or after a meal. Also ace with garlic.

2024 Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé, France
13% alc. RRP 89, drink by 2027
The extra concentration from Bandol is plain to see – fresh peach, a touch of pomegranate, some red cherries wrapped up in creamy-yet spicy complexity on this 55 per cent mourvèdre, 25 per cent grenache and 20 per cent cinsault blend.

2022 Domaine Filliatreau Saumur-Champigny, France
13.5% alc. RRP 50, drink by 2027
Bright cassis fruit and fine tannins are the hallmarks of this gorgeous bright thing. Certified organic and macerated for a month or so in steel, it’s energetic and has some profund weight behind it. Impressive.

2017 Terre de l’Elu Le Revenant Cabernet Franc, France
13.5% alc. RRP 45, drink by 2027
Another fabulous cab franc from this neck of the woods, steel fermented with native yeasts and aged for 60 months in barrel for extra va va voom. Bold ripe berries, plenty of earthy undertones for extra complexity, spice in star anise, tobacco smokiness and ripe tannins. Great value.

2021 Albana di Romagna Bissoni Passito, Italy
13% alc. RRP 93, drink by 2031
Lush loveliness. The honey, orange and apricot aromas on this certified organic late-harvest wine make it devastatingly tempting. Palate-wise, it’s rich but balanced, fleshy but taut, grippy but gluggable. A dessert in itself, this is a creamy, fruit-filled delight.

2023 Elio Perrone Sourgal Moscato d’Asti DOCG, Italy
5.5% alc. RRP 44, drink by 2026
A perennially fantastic classic, this light, low-alcohol fizz is made by the Perrone family, who have been making wine in northern Italy since the 19th century. Pure, semi-sparkling and full of grape, apricot and peach happiness. Every mouthful is joyous.

2023 Zuani Vigne Collio Bianco, Italy
13% alc. RRP 48, drink by 2028
Invitingly bright, this excellent blend of friulano, pinot grigio, chardonnay and sauvignon is alive with greengages and quince on the nose. The palate is just as tempting, at first very grassy and floral then opening out to reveal more breadth, body and a hint of tropicality.

2020 Tenuta Stella Friulano, Italy
13.5% alc. RRP 50, drink by 2027
A lesson in how to not underestimate friulano, this is a confident and energetic wine with plenty of honeysuckle brightness and a bold peachy undertone. Bursting with ‘drink me now’ freshness, this tows a great line between salinity and zingy sour grapefruit.

2020 Vie Erte Cigliuti Barbaresco, Italy
15% alc. RRP 125, drink by 2032
A nebbiolo that pulls out all the stops, this is a really elegant wine, as so many of the 2020s are. Perfumed with brambles and spice, the meaty depth belies its poise, and although the tannins are young, its superiority is clear to taste.

2021 Cascina delle Rose Tre Stelle Barbaresco, Italy
14% alc. RRP 182, drink by 2035
From one of Barbaresco’s top crus, Tre Stelle, and one that’s renowned for sophistication, this ticks all the elegant boxes. Young and alive with plums, roses and a hint of smoky depth, it bears all the hallmarks of needing to age, even though it’s a beautiful nebbiolo already. Sigh.

This article first appeared in issue #80 of Halliday magazine. Become a member to receive all four issues per year plus digital access to over 185,000 tasting notes from 4000+ plus wineries and distilleries, plus much more.

Expand your knowledge with Halliday Wine Academy

Halliday Wine Academy offers an in-depth view of the Australian and international wine landscapes. Select Introduction to Wine to learn about Australian wines and regions. Wines of the World: Europe explores the iconic wines, regions and laws of France, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Germany and Austria, and Wines of the World: Europe and Beyond delves deeper into Italy, Greece, the Americas, South Africa and New Zealand.