Summer will be winding down soon, and labor day is fast approaching and with it, the last chance for an old fashioned grilling. Labor Day is among the three most popular grilling days, the other two are the 4th of July and Memorial day.
Whether you are a fan of charcoal grilling steaks or you tend to steer towards healthy grilling options like portabello mushrooms, you want to make sure you have the right beverage on hand to pair with your meal.
While all restaurants and expert have different schools of thought when it comes to wine pairing, there are some easy tricks that can help you pick the right wine for your meal every time.
In this post, we’ll outline a few of those basic tenets.
Spicy and Sweet
If you are taking BBQ classes to kick your grilling up a notch, then listen up. Many people say they prefer red wine. But when you are serving spicy food, you will want to serve something with a little extra sugar like a Riesling or a Gamay. That’s because the sugar will help to balance out the heat.
And absolutely anything that has a lot of tannins. The chemical compounds that make up those drying tannins will react very poorly with the heat, and could ruin your cookout.
Chill Out
Just because summer may be winding down, doesn’t mean that the heat is going anywhere anytime soon. One of the main reasons why people opt for beer in the summer rather than wine is the fact that beer is cold and refreshing. But we’re going to let you in on a secret: you can chill wine.
Yes, even red wine. In fact, in Europe, they routinely serve red wine at a much cooler temperature than we do. And some reds, like a Gamay, actually benefit from a little extra chill.
Get Low
Keep your alcohol content on the lower side. There are several reasons for this. One, wine tends to be more alcoholic than beer, and not everyone knows how to pace themselves when they are enjoying wine.
Also, you don’t want to overpower the food. A wine that is alcoholic has a very strong taste. You don’t want all those grilling tips and grilling tricks to go to waste, right?
Whether you are cooking at home or out in restaurants, wine pairing can be a bit of a challenge. Hopefully, this guide has helped you better understand how to approach it for your cookout.
