Roe deer, stags and autumn wines

It's hunting season. And hunting means ensuring a certain balance in the forest that would otherwise not happen by itself. Fallow deer and red deer are among the animals that are shot. Of course, the different species of red deer and roe deer differ from each other. However, it is not necessarily the type of game that is decisive for the combination with wine, but the preparation. Generally speaking, a strong red wine is always the right choice. But there are also surprises. And ultimately, it's the nuances that make it special.

Long roasted pieces of venison or deer, such as back or leg, are among the finest culinary delights in autumn and winter. You should get something very special from the cellar to go with it: a strong, but also cellar-ripe wine that combines the gamey notes of the meat with the tertiary flavours of the wine. We recommend classic Burgundy, Bordeaux or Brunello di Montalcino.

When it gets really cold, it is often the slowly braised dishes that offer the real soul food. Think of osso buco, but from venison, a shank or a ragù that has been waiting for you for hours at a low temperature in the casserole while you went for a long weekend walk in the countryside. A dish with lots of herbs and juniper that tastes a little like the south of France or Spain will happily absorb the flavours of a Châteauneuf-du-Pape or a mature Rioja or Ribera del Duero. If the dish is rich in fat, for example because bacon is involved, Syrah or Blaufränkisch are also a very good choice. As an Italian dish, ragù also favours Italian grape varieties such as Barbera or Sangiovese.

Of course, venison or deer meat can also be cured or smoked to make ham or sausages. Young, still fruity Burgundy or Garnacha wines tend to be used for the sausages. Venison with smoky notes, on the other hand, goes very well with white wines that have been matured in wood themselves and offer slightly smoky notes. A white Bordeaux cuvée would be the first choice.

If you want to put pieces of venison on the barbecue, i.e. briefly roasted, but with a smoky element and perhaps a spicy rub, then it may be a wine with fullness and fruit, but also with tannin. We would orientate ourselves towards Chile and Argentina, South Africa, New Zealand or the USA and think of overseas Pinot, Malbec or Bordeaux cuvées.

When we think of pan-fried meat, where marinades and smoke play no part, but the pink meat and the sweetness of the Maillard reaction do, we think above all of local Pinot Noir and - what perhaps few people think of straight away: mature, residual sweet Riesling. Riesling is a wine that goes perfectly with game, both fallow deer and wild fowl.