BBQ Wines

Since many of us have dusted off the grills in honor of Independence Day Weekend, I wanted to share what I’ll be pairing with my food this Fourth of July.
 
Mushrooms/veggies
Picture this: the sun is shining, the barbecue is fired up, Return of the Mack is playing in the background and you have a glass of chilled red wine in your hand. What wine is this? Olga Raffault Chinon 2010. This wine, made from 100% Cabernet Franc grapes in the Loire Valley of France, is my summer red go-to. This gem is a medium-bodied red wine with juicy red fruit and a hint green bell peppers. Great to drink while getting the party started or eating some grilled veggies.
 
Burgers
Now you have a burger in your hand, your dancing to Jagged Edge's Where the Party At? and thinking about your next drink. Well it should be Nero d’Avola from southern Italy. Alcesti L’Isola 2014 is great for pairing with burgers because of its vibrant berry flavor and its hints of Mediterranean spices. Also its just sooo yummy. 
 
Sausage
Now that party is starting to really heat up and Sean Paul’s Temperature is blazing on the ones and twos, you’re going in for the real thing, some spicy sausage. Mmmm sausage! For this spicy treat, Italian Primitivos or Zinfandels from California are the way to go. Personally I find many young California Zins too juicy with a lot of over ripe fruit characteristics and for this reason I tend to lean towards “old vine” Zinfandels.  St. George’s Birichino Zinfandel 2013 is awesomesauce. The original vines were planted back in 1922, and they give this wine a nice dark fruit intensity with lots of spicy characteristics. Great for pairing with any Sean Paul song!
 
Brisket
At this point the Beyoncé’s 7/11 is playing, the party is turned up and the brisket is finally ready. It’s time to drink some Syrah. Bloem 2013 from South Africa is a blend of mostly Syrah with some Mourvedre, two grapes that you find in Rhone region in southern France. This wine has black currant and cherry fruit aromas with smoky cedar and spice notes, and is made for pairing with some smoked brisket and some Bey spiciness.
 
Now the sun is down, everyone’s stuffed, people are dancing to Pony and words like shots and whiskey are being mentioned, so this is where I leave you :)
 
As always, if you like what you’ve read or have any questions, just shoot me an email. Also if you’d like to add anyone to the distribution list, just let me know.
 
Happy Fourth!
 
Yg