The Bath & Wiltshire Parent’s wine columnist, Ben Franks FRSA, shares his favourite Novel Wines pairings for those summer BBQ parties.
Normally when you read wine pairing articles, you end up with more choice than you started with as every dish cries out for a different wine. To simplify things, I’ve picked my favourite all-rounder BBQ whites, rosé and reds. If you’re a red drinker, then any of my red matches should sing next to your BBQ line-up and same for the others, too. At the end there’s some more specific pairings for veggie dishes and fancy BBQ plates for the wine enthusiasts to indulge in!
White wines with BBQ food
White might be the obvious choice when the sun’s shining but alongside burgers, melted cheese, sausages, pulled pork, glazed ribs and grilled vegetables, it can be a difficult wine to get right.
If you like bubbles, you will be pleased to know that a toasty and rich sparkling wine can conquer most pairings on the BBQ, matching the smoky notes surprisingly well. Few sparkling wines will do that as well as the Geisse Extra Brut Tradicional (£29.99, Novel Wines) from Brazil, with its moreish palate of toasted brioche, apricot, biscuit and cream.
Another good BBQ all-rounder is the full and creamy Balla Geza Kolna Kiralyleanyka (£12.99, Novel Wines) from Minis, Romania. The buttercream, yellow pear and apple character means it pairs well with meats and melted cheese alike. It’s similar to Chardonnay but a little more bittersweet and has less orchard fruit notes.
If you’re in the anything but Chardonnay crowd, then it’s time to revisit Riesling style wines as their acidity and intensity means they pair with all those rich BBQ flavours. A good, rare white wine to try would be the Somloi Vandor Nagy-Somloi Juhfark (£13.99, Novel Wines) from the volcanic hills of Balaton.
Rosé is the surprise best match to BBQ grub
Rosé has a bad rep and it’s a shame because today it can be one of the most interesting and versatile food wines you can find. Its red fruits make it delicious with spice, the acidity giving you a great match with salt (think the seasoning to your steak) and the Mediterranean examples have enough body to match with glaze and fats.
A firm favourite for me is the Kayra Beyaz Kalecik Karasi (£15.99, Novel Wines) which I’ve recommended here numerous times. Made by the brilliant Ozge Kaymaz in Denizli, Turkey, it’s a mix of orange and melon with summer berries that will bring the sunshine out even if it’s overcast. If you want something a bit more ‘Provence’, then our home-grown local pink Aldwick Estate Mary’s Rose (£16.49, Novel Wines) from Somerset is a good shout.
If you gawk at those prices for rosé, then try the fruity Benedek Kekfrankos Rosé (£9.99, Novel Wines) from Hungary or get bang for your buck with the Canned Wine Co. No. 3 Grenache Rosé (£5.49, Novel Wines) that comes in quick-to-cool, easy 250ml serves – ideal if there’s only a few of you drinking pink.
Best reds with your BBQ
A lot of Brits are in the red wine whatever the weather crowd, and the tannins in red make it a natural partner with meat-heavy BBQs. If you love smoky flavours most, then opting for something truly novel like the Sula Vineyards Dindori Reserve Shiraz (£13.99, Novel Wines) from India would be a talking point. It’s matured in heavily charred American oak, so you get an almost peated whisky hue to the jammy red wine.
A safer all-rounder, if you’re not all peat whisky fans, is the fruit-forward and unoaked Colomba Bianca ‘Vitese’ Organic Nero d’Avola (£9.99, Novel Wines) from Sicily. Plenty of fruit over notes of soft spice.
And forget Malbec and steak, Malbec and glazed pork ribs is the heavenly pairing. An old favourite of mine, again from Brazil, is the Don Guerino ‘Vintage’ Malbec (£19.99, Novel Wines), grown around Alto Feliz in the southern state of the country. Violet and black plum aromas with blackberries and flecks of vanilla spice make it one of the best Malbecs under £20. The Argentinian Molinillo Malbec (£9.99, Novel Wines) is a good every day, well-priced alternative.
Pairing wines with the veggie essentials
Vegetables on the grill aren’t just the domain of vegetarian guests but can be some of the most exciting dishes at your event. Whether that’s a buttery corn on the cob with hot pepper sauce, rum-glazed grilled pineapple or a plethora of grilled Mediterranean vegetables with lashings of olive oil. Then you’ve got all your fresh Greek salads, cherry tomatoes, or potato salad.
Generally you’ll want a good all-rounder and there’s two wines that do this better than any other. The first is a more fruit-driven rosé, like the pink Heumann Rosé Kekfrankos (£12.99, Novel Wines) with its mix of red cherries, pink grapefruit, pepper and thyme. The second is a light-bodied red that doesn’t compromise on ripeness of fruit – Spain is a safe bet for that style and the Mesta Organic Garnacha (£9.99. Novel Wines) hits the nail on the head. Both these wines are veggie friendly, too.
The fancy dishes
Some BBQ aficionados cook up a storm. Mouth-watering dishes like fiery prawn and pepper skewers, or homemade spicy veggie bean burgers, also love good rosé or bright reds, but spice does even better with an off-dry white wine like Moldovan Chateau Purcari ‘1827’ Viorica (£16.99, Novel Wines), which picked up a Decanter Platinum medal for its first ever vintage release. Brimming with tropical fruits, like lychee, mango and guava, with grapefruit and honeysuckle.
If you like smoked fish on a BBQ, especially in a taco with salsa, then go for a fizz like the smooth, sweet-citrus Waldschütz Sparkling Extra Dry NV (£19.99, Novel Wines) from Austria.
Glazed aubergine, one of my favourite grills, loves an Oloroso or – if you have a sweet tooth – PX Sherry. Just make sure the sherry is chilled.
You can find more recipe and wine pairing articles over at www.novelwines.co.uk, along with over 300 truly unique wines sourced by Ben and his team.