John Brown has been a wine and food columnist in West Virginia since the 1980’s. His regular columns appear in the Charleston (WV) Gazette-Mail under the title Vines & Vittles.
Wines for summer foods
Memorial Day is coming! Are you ready to get your picnic on? I am and today we’ll examine some vinous liquids that will enhance and elevate simple, but all-American, picnic and leisure time foods. So put out the porch furniture and crank up the grill because it’s (almost) summertime- and the livin’ is easy.
First of all, let me destroy the myth that warmer weather requires light, white wines that are cool and refreshing to pair with the chicken, seafood, salads and veggies we tend to consume more of in the summer. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with tasty, light white wines, but you don’t need to stop there. Trust me, you really can enjoy fuller bodied wines in the summertime – even big reds.
As usual, the food you’re cooking should determine what you’re drinking. But let’s start with lighter style whites and roses that fit the casual feel of outdoor cooking, and also pair really well with grilled foods. These lighter-style wines benefit from a little chilling, particularly the reds, which will provide a refreshing counterpoint to the sometimes spicy entrees being prepared.
You might choose a crisp, herbal or citrusy sauvignon blanc with foods such as dill poached salmon, grilled broccoli, roasted chicken seasoned with rosemary and olive or basil and pine nut pesto pasta. Here are some of my favorite sauvignon blancs to try with the above-mentioned foods: Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc and Brancott Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand; Ferrari -Carano Fume Blanc, Groth Sauvignon Blanc, St. Suppery Sauvignon Blanc and Kenwood Sauvignon Blanc from California; and Robert Oatley Sauvignon Blanc from Australia.
Rose’s are just made for warmer weather and the beauty of these wines is their versatility in either being an aperitif or a match to your picnic foods. I especially like the drier versions that are especially excellent accompaniments to grilled foods, particularly sausages. Whether you prefer Italian, Polish, Bratwurst or some other pork-encased tube steak, rose’ is a great choice.
Here are some roses’, which again I recommend serving chilled, you may wish to try: Las Rocas Rose’ (Spain); Grange Philippe “Gipsy” Rose’ (France); Reginato Sparkling Rose’ of Malbec (Argentina); Mulderbosch Cabernet Sauvignon Rose’ (South Africa); Elizabeth Spencer Rose’ of Grenache (California).
Summertime gets me in a serious mood to fire up the old Weber and start grilling various hunks of meat that require medium to full bodied red wine. Whether you choose to grill hamburgers, rack of lamb, a rib-eye steak or a pork baby-backs, reds are my go-to wines.
Give one of these bottlings a sip: Easton Amador County Zinfandel, Villa Antinori Toscano Rosso (Italy); Domaine Serene Yamhill Cuvee Pinot Noir (Oregon); Zaccagnini Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (Italy); Bodegas Muga Crianza Rioja (Spain); Field Stone Convivio Red (California); Domaine De La Janasse Cotes Du Rhone Villages (France); Mercer Merlot (Washington State); David Bruce Pinot Noir (California) and Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel (California).
So whether you’re grilling rib-eyes or tube steak, there is always a wine (or several) for every food, and that makes summertime so much fun.
First of all, let me destroy the myth that warmer weather requires light, white wines that are cool and refreshing to pair with the chicken, seafood, salads and veggies we tend to consume more of in the summer. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with tasty, light white wines, but you don’t need to stop there. Trust me, you really can enjoy fuller bodied wines in the summertime – even big reds.
As usual, the food you’re cooking should determine what you’re drinking. But let’s start with lighter style whites and roses that fit the casual feel of outdoor cooking, and also pair really well with grilled foods. These lighter-style wines benefit from a little chilling, particularly the reds, which will provide a refreshing counterpoint to the sometimes spicy entrees being prepared.
You might choose a crisp, herbal or citrusy sauvignon blanc with foods such as dill poached salmon, grilled broccoli, roasted chicken seasoned with rosemary and olive or basil and pine nut pesto pasta. Here are some of my favorite sauvignon blancs to try with the above-mentioned foods: Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc and Brancott Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand; Ferrari -Carano Fume Blanc, Groth Sauvignon Blanc, St. Suppery Sauvignon Blanc and Kenwood Sauvignon Blanc from California; and Robert Oatley Sauvignon Blanc from Australia.
Rose’s are just made for warmer weather and the beauty of these wines is their versatility in either being an aperitif or a match to your picnic foods. I especially like the drier versions that are especially excellent accompaniments to grilled foods, particularly sausages. Whether you prefer Italian, Polish, Bratwurst or some other pork-encased tube steak, rose’ is a great choice.
Here are some roses’, which again I recommend serving chilled, you may wish to try: Las Rocas Rose’ (Spain); Grange Philippe “Gipsy” Rose’ (France); Reginato Sparkling Rose’ of Malbec (Argentina); Mulderbosch Cabernet Sauvignon Rose’ (South Africa); Elizabeth Spencer Rose’ of Grenache (California).
Summertime gets me in a serious mood to fire up the old Weber and start grilling various hunks of meat that require medium to full bodied red wine. Whether you choose to grill hamburgers, rack of lamb, a rib-eye steak or a pork baby-backs, reds are my go-to wines.
Give one of these bottlings a sip: Easton Amador County Zinfandel, Villa Antinori Toscano Rosso (Italy); Domaine Serene Yamhill Cuvee Pinot Noir (Oregon); Zaccagnini Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (Italy); Bodegas Muga Crianza Rioja (Spain); Field Stone Convivio Red (California); Domaine De La Janasse Cotes Du Rhone Villages (France); Mercer Merlot (Washington State); David Bruce Pinot Noir (California) and Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel (California).
So whether you’re grilling rib-eyes or tube steak, there is always a wine (or several) for every food, and that makes summertime so much fun.
