Wine Blog Wednesday 23 - BBQ wines

We Brits dont really have a tradition of Barbeque, not like the Aussie's who will quite literally chuck anything on a bbq, the only rule being you have one hand on the barbie, the other on a tinnie. In America, barbeque is a whole cuisine unto itself. Wander down the food aisle of Waterstones or Borders bookshop and there are whole shelves devoted to books on BBQ. Cajun style, tex mex style, louisiana slow cooking style etc etc. In South Africa the "Briai" (not sure about the spelling there) is a male bonding ritual, with the boerwoers sausage, obligitory beers and other accoutrements. Here in blighty, we BBQ quite badly. Our idea of a good barbeque is one where you dont get food poisoning from the burnt to a crisp on the outside sausages, that somehow manage to still be frozen/raw in the middle. So Im going to take a look at a few wines that might work well in a garden party style of event. Once again bending the "rules" of the event.

White wine:
For summer glugging, I absolutely love a Moscato d'Asti. Light fruity white wine, from Italy. One of my favourites is the Prunotto Moscato d'Asti which is a DOCG. This is a light fruity white, only about 9% alcohol, so you can swig a few bottles and still walk. For sitting in the summer sun, with a bowl of strawberries and melon you cant beat it. Lightly sparkling, with a fruity sweetness - that kind of unmistakable grapey flavour that only moscato seems to have.


Red Wine:
Bonny Doon Vineyards, Clos de Gilroy Grenache. I first tried this wine last year when we did a Rhone Rangers Dinner in the Arkle. Alex Krause from BDV vineyards came over and presented their wines. We started with the Vin gris de Cigare, before having the Cigare Blanc, then the Clos de Gilroy with the intermediate. Wow, what a cracking red wine, rich purple fruit flavours, a modicum of tannins, enough to cut through red meats and smokey flavours (it works really well with a Duke of Berkshire smoked pork belly that we serve right now.), but not too much that its a heavy red. I'd class this as a medium bodied red, with all the flavour and intensity of a full bodied red. Apparently Randall Grahm is trying to position it as something in the style of a Grenache Nouveau, and seems to be getting closer to this aim, as the 2004 was harvested early enough to have the wine released by the 18th November. With its funky label which at first looks a bit like Oscar Wilde, to the frankly bizarre notes on the rear label, this is a wine that is set to challenge your conceptions and expand your horizons.

So thats my take on wine blog wednesday 23. If Im lucky the weather will hold out to the weekend and I might get the opportunity to try out the wines on Sunday.