The advent of the summer season for food lovers is inseparably associated with the art and enjoyment of barbeque. A BBQ meal is much more than just eating, it a is multi-sensual social gathering where family and friends share good food, conversation and laughter.
Food historians have long debated the origin of barbeque but mankind has been using fire to cook since early humans first gained the ability to control the use of fire. Archeologists hotly debate the date of this history changing moment with published papers citing dates as recently as 200,000 years ago and others claiming many first gained control over fire as far back as 1.7 million years ago. The ability to cook food, in particular meat, has been credited with expediting the evolution of man allowing for more digestible and nutritious foods to be consumed in smaller pieces. This led to smaller jaws and teeth and more protein to nurture growing brains.
The etymology of the word barbeque is also controversial. Some believe it comes from a French phrase “barbe a queue” meaning from head to tail, but most etymologists believe barbeque is a derivative of the West Indian term barbcoa that refers to a slow-roasting method of cooking meat over hot coals. What is decidedly uncontroversial and universally accepted is how absolutely delicious barbeque meats taste, especially with the right wine. Though BBQ feasts around the world often incorporate many ingredients including seafood and vegetables, in deference to the probable origin of the word I shall focus my BBQ comments in this column to meats. By consequence, my wine recommendations shall be confined to red wines.
Avoid subtlety
The first rule in picking red wines for BBQ meals is to pick bold and assertive wines. So many of the BBQ meats we are marinated, spiced or smoked all giving them heartier flavors that may overwhelm and deconstruct more subtle and understated wines. Instead you should pick wines that have at least 13 percent alcohol and fruit forward styles with high extract and abundant soft tannins. It’s also nice to have wines that have somewhat spicy natures. These styles of wines have the requisite power and broad food pairing spectrum to match with the varying flavors, textures and aromas of BBQ meals. The essence of a BBQ meal is fun and casual so the wines you choose should also be affordable. A trio of wine styles that are widely available in Shanghai fulfill these criteria perfectly.
Chilean Carmenere
Few wine styles are more perfect for BBQ than the Chilean red wine Carmenere. Sometimes referred to as Bordeaux’s sixth grape, the Carmenere despite being nearly extinct in Bordeaux has found a perfect new home in the dry hillside vineyards of Chile where the grape makes some of the New World’s most intriguing red wines. Featuring a brooding dark color and ripe black fruit flavors often with sensations of spices and herbs these wines are ideal companions to a sumptuous and savory BBQ gathering. The soft tannins in Carmenere wines also helping digest the fatty sometimes greasy meats we love to BBQ. Four terrific Carmenere wines that are eminently affordable are Santa Rita Reserva Carmenere, Calina Carmenere, Barone Philippe de Rothschild Carmenere Reserve and Chocolan Carmenere Reserva. This quartet of hearty southern hemisphere reds are sure to embellish the best of BBQs. Ideal BBQ styles to enjoy with Chilean Carmenere wines include South Carolina pulled pork and slow roasted chicken, Texas slow cooked beef brisket and Caribbean BBQ sausages.
Californian Zinfandel
Heavily spiced BBQ meal replete with stimulating chili, black and white peppers and other palate stimulating spices are best paired with a very ripe, almost sweet red wine. The perfect solution is a traditional style California Zinfandel. Brought to the New World by Italian farmers over 150 years ago, the classic California Zinfandel has evolved in style from the basic, rustic style of its parent the Primitivo grape in Puglia, Italy to a very fruity, highly extracted full-bodied wine. Well made California Zins typically offer generous red and black berry flavors with notes of black pepper and round, palate coating tannins. Seghesio Sonoma Zinfandel, Kendall-Jackson Vinter’s Reserve Zinfandel and Esser Zinfandel are all ideal California wines of substance with ripe palate soothing fruit that will help mitigate pain from even the spiciest of BBQ meats. When enjoying these wines with spicy BQQ meats it’s a good idea to chill the wines to about 15C. These wines pair extremely well with slightly sweet Japanese and spicy-sweet Southeast Asian style meat skewers as well as more fiery Korean BBQ meats.
Spanish Tempranillo
If the meats of your BBQ are not heavily spiced and instead flavored only with sprinkling of salt, black pepper and Mediterranean herbs than your perfect wine companion is a Spanish Tempranillo. Nothing makes me happier than sitting on a terrace in northern Spain on a spring evening dining on BBQ baby lamb or suckling pig served with a local bottle of Tempranillio red wine. This is one of the gourmet world’s most simple yet hedonistic experiences. In addition to black berry, plum and strawberry flavors many Tempranillio reds also offer sensations of tobacco that perfectly complement lightly smoked BBQ meats. Generously flavored and silky smooth Tempranillo wines that are relatively easy to find in Shanghai include Elias Mora Crianza, Torres Celeste Tempranillio, Juan Leon Terrasola Tempranillio and Marques de Riscal 1860 Tempranillio. In addition to all types of Spanish grilled meats, good Tempranillo wines are delicious with BBQ innards like Korean pork and beef intestines, Taiwan style chicken heart skewers and Mongolian lamb tongue.
The final rule of pairing wines with BBQ meats is probably the most important. BBQ is meant to be fun and not overly structured, in other words the antithesis of wine pretention; so go ahead and enjoy whatever wine that makes you happy.
