This time of the year food and wine magazines are full of suggestions as to which wines to choose for the outdoor summer parties. So why not also here in BKWine Brief! We love barbecue parties ourselves.
It is not really difficult to choose a barbecue wine. You pick something you like, not too fancy or expensive, and there you are. However, let us look at it a little more in depth.
What is different when you have an outdoor party compared to when you eat in your dining room or in the kitchen? Well, to start with, you are outside. Which means that any wine you choose will have a lot of competition from Mother Nature (smells of flowers etc). There will be a lot of olfactory sensations around you, not least the smell from the barbecue itself (oh, isn’t that the most lovely of all smells?). So, pick a wine with a lot of taste, but not, as I said earlier, a too expensive or too complex wine. Not so old either, because the wind might blow away the more subtle fragrance of an old wine. So, something tasty, fruity, young and fresh. However – and this is important – you need a wine with structure and tannins if you are barbecuing meat. Meat needs tannins. So don’t buy too cheap, these wines are most of the time too mellow and soft to go well with grilled meat. The new generation Languedoc or southern Rhône Valley wines is one suggestion. In the price range between 6 and 12 euro they are very good value for money.
If it is very warm outside, do not forget to cool the wines! Drinking red wines at 28 degrees C is not a big hit so be prepared with wine coolers and lots of ice. (And don’t forget to put a lot of water and then some ice in the ice bucket!)
For the outdoor party serving lighter dishes (a buffet for instance, with salads and charcuterie) you would probably choose a lighter red wine. We still want a good acidity but less tannin. I would choose a red Loire wine (Chinon, Bourgueil or a Saumur-Champigny) or a Beaujolais. These will give you a good acidity, plenty of fruit and a fairly light body. But don’t forget to cool them down to 12-14 degrees. If you prefer a white don’t pick a wine that is too aromatic as it is supposed to go well with a lot of different dishes. A Gruner Veltliner from Austria would taste great, or an Italian Soave or a white Bordeaux, or something from southern France or southern Italy…
We wish you a happy outdoor season!
