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- Published: 12 July 2006 12 July 2006
Make sure you don’t go for a wine that’s got a high alcohol content. Barbecues are synonymous with warm weather (unless you’re reading this in Scotland) and slightly salty food. Both create a thirst and slaking it with too much alcohol is not the answer. There are quite enough problems associated with barbecues – charcoal won’t burn; long delays in cooking; chicken burnt on the outside and pink in the middle – that creating another by knocking everyone out with highly alcoholic wine is another that you just don’t need. Go for something with an abv of 12.5% or lower, or be dammed.
Don’t go over the top:
Keep cool:
After choosing something refreshing with a lower degree of alcohol, make sure that it’s something fruity, low in tannin which can be served chilled. This doesn’t rule out red wines. There are plenty of reds that fit the bill. Beaujolais, although quite unfashionable due to the Nouveau overload we saw in the ‘80s, is made from the Gamay grape which is both light in tannin and very fruity. There are many types, the best being named after the villages they come from such as Morgon, Fleurie and St Amour.
Cushion your landing
Whites are easy:
For a little more weight, add in a lively, fresh Chardonnay. Not one of the big oaky, alcoholic Aussies but a young, quaffing Southern French from the Pays d’Oc or the Languedoc region.
Rosé:
Spare your wallet:
Today’s experiment
Tell your friends. If your friends are accustomed to turning up at your parties with bottles of wine they bought for a fiver from the shop across the road, tell them to forget it. Or rather, ask them to bring food instead, maybe dessert. If they turn up with a frozen shop-bought gateaux then ask yourself, do I really like these people? Life really is too short.
Happy barbecuing!
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