Choosing wine for your BBQ: this is how you do it (plus buying tips)

Smoky aromas, sizzling sounds, delicious cuts of meat and fish from the barbecue; naturally, you want a tasty matching wine to go with them too. Because barbecue & wine are a perfect combination. But of course, you need to know which wine pairs best. We’re here to help.

Baking, roasting, stir-frying, steaming, deep-frying, grilling; you really don’t have to be a chef to imagine that steamed fish tastes completely different from the same fish cooked on the barbecue. The preparation method you choose has a huge effect on the final flavour experience of your dish. While steaming creates delicate flavours, meaning you should serve a ballerina of a wine, with a grilled piece of meat that tastes smoky and slightly sweet, you should instead choose a powerhouse of a wine. The flavour intensity of grilling (on a plate) and roasting (over a fire) is considerably greater than that of deep-frying or roasting. And that calls for different wines.

Rosé or full-bodied white with oily fish

Oily fish from the barbecue is often powerful in flavour, so choose a powerful wine. How about a rosé? And it certainly doesn’t always have to come from Provence – in Spain, for example, you’ll also find plenty of ‘rosado‘, as rosé is called there. Both very pale rosé, such as the delicious Viña Esmeralda Rosé, and dark pink rosé, such as Torres Viña Sol Rosé. Delicious with salmon and other (slightly fattier) grilled fish! From tomorrow (Monday 3 August), Viña Sol will be on special offer at Albert Heijn, costing less than five euros a bottle – a bargain.

Smooth red with fattier meat

Smooth red wines always work well with fattier types of meat from the BBQ. Such as a juicy hamburger, especially one made with a half-pork, half-beef mince, because pork (mmm, pulled pork!) from the grill loves smooth red. Sangre de Toro Original from Spain’s Torres is one such wine. Smooth but also full-bodied and wonderfully sultry, with a velvety flavour. Also delicious with BBQ hotdogs.

Full-bodied red with heartier meat

With heartier red meat from the barbecue, you need heavier artillery. A juicy piece of grilled steak begs for a broad-shouldered wine, one with structure and tannins. Red wines such as cabernet sauvignon, merlot or syrah/shiraz are an ideal match. The meat acts as a catalyst for flavour and richness, bringing out the fruit in the wine and making the tannins softer and smoother. And don’t forget Argentine malbec. It’s as if the Argentinians developed this wine especially for their favourite pastime – barbecuing. Rib eye from the charcoal grill is an exceptional match in particular.

Classic red with lamb

Lamb is an outstanding all-rounder for classic wines. On the one hand subtle yet intense, on the other earthy yet juicy. Combined with tempranillo, the Spanish superstar, it’s a match made in heaven!

Chardonnay with chicken satay

When you say chicken, you almost automatically say chardonnay. Whether you bake, grill, roast it or serve it with a cream sauce, you can’t go wrong with chardonnay. It won’t surprise you; chicken satay also rhymes with chardonnay. Funnily enough, rosé can also work with chicken satay – give it a try.

Crisp white with white fish

White wine with fish can never go wrong. From mackerel and swordfish to grilled sardines, finished with a little lemon and a sprinkling of sea salt, easy does it. Torres Viña Sol Garnacha Parellada is a blend of the Spanish grapes parellada and garnacha, deliciously juicy and fresh. If you ask me, it’s a true barbecue wine. Not only because its flavour pairs incredibly well, but also because of its summery appearance. Instead of a label, this cheerful Spaniard is adorned with a completely white/turquoise covering. A real eye-catcher on the table that will be gone before you know it.

Grill alcohol-free

And one more thing: you can barbecue in style with a glass of wine in your hand and still stay safe – with an alcohol-free wine. Most wine lovers shudder at the word alone. Or, as wine writer Harold Hamersma puts it: “It’s like having sex with an inflatable doll.” A truly good alcohol-free wine is also hard to find – it’s really only delicious when the base wine used for it – and dealcoholised – is of good quality. Natureo by Torres is a pleasant exception to all the alcohol-free muck I’ve tasted. Made from the moscatel grape, it’s simply a perfectly decent glass of wine, fresh and summery-fruity. For all your safe grilling – and a great alternative for guests who don’t want to drink alcohol.

Also read:

• 5 common mistakes when barbecuing
• Recipe: vegan BBQ pizza
• Recipe: how to make an incredible T-bone steak