Wines for BBQ
JULY 2023
Wines across the board taste great with grilled meats & vegetables, but BBQ can be hit or miss. The problem is not the rich cut of meat (often pork) nor the method of cooking (using fire or smoke). It's that sauce! Tangy (high acid), spicy, salty and/or sweet sauce often plopped on the meat before serving.
Probably the trickiest element for wine is sweetness because sweet foods can make many wines taste tart. Other things to consider when pairing with BBQ: 1) tannic wines make spicy flavors spicier, and 2) BBQ is usually rich & fatty so the wine needs enough body to hold up to the dish.
This month's club features 3 terrific food wines -- Ramato (an orange wine from Northern Italy), a Washington Syrah, and a Zinfandel from Sonoma -- that work with anything off the grill including a slathering of BBQ sauce.
2-BOTTLE CLUB
Dal Cero Family
The Dal Cero family has been producing wine for over three generations. Today, brothers Giuseppe (at their Tuscan estate) and Dario (in Veneto, overseeing their estates in Soave & Valpolicella) run the family business with the help of their adult children.
Photo: Dal Cero estate vineyards in Veneto
Santa Clerissa 2021 Pinot Grigio Ramato
Veneto, Italy // Reg $19.99 | Mixed Case $15.99
"Orange wines" as they are sometimes called are technically white wines made from grapes that have a dark grey skin (most commonly Pinot Grigio/Pinot Gris, pictured above). The juice is left in contact with the dark gray skins for 12 hours after crush, imparting a salmon color, fleshy mouthfeel and aromas of exotic fruits. Wonderful wine. Drink now to 2 years. Tastes good with every food on planet earth including BBQ!
Fun fact: Ramato is Venetian dialect for copper, the color of the wine after skin contact.
Another fun fact: the grapes above are from the Franchetto family, cousins to the Dal Cero family.
Kerloo Cellars
Ryan Crane (pictured left & 3rd from the right with his bottling crew) founded Kerloo Cellars in 2007 in Walla Walla after volunteering at Animale (in Ballard!), studying Enology and Viticulture in Walla Walla, working as assistant winemaker at Va Piano & more. He moved the operation back to Seattle in 2015. Ryan's winemaking style is special. His wines are a little leaner for Washington State, complex, not heavily oaked, super-interesting and above all tasty.
Kerloo 2020 Solaksen Vineyard Syrah
Royal Slope, Washington // Reg $29.99 | Mixed Case $23.99
Syrah/Viognier, 94%/6%. Rich dark fruit, note of meaty black olives. Body is medium. Elegant. Complex. Flavors of plums, black cherries, black raspberries. Earthy tones. Not heavily oaked. Super tasty. Think Northern Rhône. Drink now to 3 years. This Syrah would taste great with grilled meats and BBQ with spicy rubs and tangy sauces.
3-BOTTLE CLUB
Bedrock Wine Company
Founded in 2007 by Morgan Twain-Peterson and joined by Chris Cottrell in 2013, the pair has a "staff of highly decent human beings" dedicated to preserving 100+ year old vineyards of (mainly) Zinfandel, but also "Mataro (Mourvedre), Carignan, Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet, Grenache, Semillon, Gewurztraminer, Trousseau Gris and Riesling along with dozens of others". They dig working with California's biodiversity and making stellar wines that reflect the old vines and the land they come from.
Bedrock 2020 Old Vine Zinfandel
Sonoma, California // Reg $29.99 | Mixed Case $23.99
Hoisin plum sauce, red plums, blackberries, raspberries on the nose. Spice. Ripe & jammy, but not over the top. More savory on the palate. Great acidity. Smooth tannins - but they're there! Bedrock is a Zinfandel icon. Drink now to 5 years. This is a quintessential Zinfandel and would taste great with any form of BBQ sauce including ones with a note of sweetness.
Fun wines! Hope you enjoy them with your choice of BBQ or otherwise. They won’t disappoint!
Cheers!
Jens Strecker, Owner
Portalis Wine Shop & J. Strecker Selections