Which wine to choose for a barbecue
If you’re planning a July 4th barbecue this weekend - or barbecuing any other weekend this summer - you may well be wondering which wine to choose. After all the average barbie with its multiple marinades, sauces and salsas is an assault course for any wine. Which is why a lot of people give up and drink beer or pitcher cocktails.
Here are the factors to take account of. A lot of barbecue marinades are sweet which tends to make lighter wines taste thin and sharp. But they may also be spicy so you don’t want a wine that’s too tannic or oaky. The temperature may well also be high so you don’t want your wine to taste too ‘hot’ or alcoholic. I’d therefore avoid wines of over 14% ABV.
The ideal choice is a medium bodied wine with enough personality to stand up to the myriad different flavours and possibly a fruitier, less dry one than you might normally drink. Good examples of white wines are Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Australian Riesling while Beaujolais, inexpensive Pinot Noir, Merlot, Shiraz and Zinfandel make good red wine choices (but watch the alcohol on the latter two)
Rosé is also an ideal barbecue wine especially the new generation of stronger, darker, more intensely fruity rosés you find from countries such as Chile and Argentina as are the increasingly popular sparkling rosés (Cava rosado is a particularly good bargain)
Almost more critical than the colour of the wine, however, is how you serve it. Any wine - even red wine - benefits from being chilled in hot weather which is why it’s not worth opening a wine of any great age or complexity for the average barbecue.
Of course now barbecuing is so easy many people grill several times a week and here slightly different guidelines apply. If the meal is not what most people would regard as a barbecue but merely a conventional meal with the main course cooked over the grill you can serve a similar type of wine to the one you would normally serve though with a greater level of intensity to allow for the heightened flavours. With a simply grilled fish served with herb butter, for example, you might drink a crisp dry white like a Sancerre. If it was seasoned with a spicy rub and cooked over coals you might prefer a zesty New Zealand, Chilean or South African Sauvignon Blanc.
If you ‘re a subscriber and have a specific barbecue menu to match don’t hesitate to contact me for my recommendations at fiona@matchingfoodandwine.com
