Yeah, but you don’t like Zinfandel period right? We just had the glorious 2012 Bedrock Old Vines with Lamb Gyros for lunch, gone pronto.
Oops, sorry about the North in there. I meant to put “Carolina Style” but was just typing a note on the MINI forum about the annual gathering at the Dragon in North Carolina so have been typing that over and over today.
Hubby’s family is from South Carolina, so he makes the mustard style from scratch around here (Furman grad and everything LOL), had a house in DeBordieu, etc. So definitely no slight meant from here! But I will say that we put the slaw on the pulled pork sandwiches, which to me is North Carolina style.
Of course I’m going to claim Brunswick stew as Georgian, never make me believe otherwise.
Funny thing I’m from GA and prefer Carolina style, hubby from the Carolinas and he prefers Georgia style usually. Guess that’s why we picked each other 
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I have a few Zins that I’ve recently discovered I really like. I have the Bedrock and Ridge but will keep those for myself. The Oak Ridge is great for the price so will do that.
Grenache and Rioja seems to be universally liked when I’ve had that so will add that to the list. Beaujolais is new to me as I’m just discovering reds so may do that if I can find something reasonably priced.
It will be hard to find a Beaujolais that’s unreasonably priced.
Where do you usually shop for wine?
Robert, I can go to Vin100 here in Alpharetta or Hinton’s. Total Wine as a back up. I know absolutely nothing about Beaujolais except that a few people have told me I would probably enjoy it based on some other wines I like. Although I was told to avoid the Nouveaux?
I knew as soon as I read the thread title that Mr. Fleming would offer up a detailed culinary commentary. 
One thing to keep in mind is that there is no one, single wine that will complement best the different animal proteins & sides that you are serving. BBQ beef brisket calls to mind a heftier red, while pork can lead you to dry or off-dry Riesling.
Depending on how many people you have, use it as an opportunity to open at least three very different kinds of wine and letting the guests try them and tell you which they like best with with dish (and why). A dry or off-dry Riesling, a dry Rose (such as from Provence), and a lower-alcohol Zinfandel or southern Rhone red would give you an interesting selection.
Bruce
I find that any significant spice is a death ray to my palate, particularly for red wine. Almost any BBQ has a fair amount of spice. I like the idea of Rose’ or champagne or beer. Or a sweeter fruity drink.
For Beaujolais, Le Caveau in Chamblee ought to be your first stop. There is a lot of mediocre industrial Beaujolais produced, but Eric has several that reflect what Gamay can produce in the hands of a vigneron who cares.
Yep, kind of like Thanksgiving. Lots of flavors going on.
Okay, a very quick, perhaps over-simplified primer:
- Beaujolais is a French wine growing region and appellation, located just north of Lyon. Although administratively considered part of Burgundy, it has more in common with the Northern Rhone, including largely granitic soils. Red Beaujolias is made from the Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc grape - usually just called Gamay. Gamay produces a richly-fruity, low tannin, relatively high acid wine that matches well with a broad range of foods.
- There are three classifications: (1) About half of all Beaujolais wine is classified as Beaujolais AOC, and sometimes referred to as “plain” or “simple” Beaujolais. Though it is the lowest classification, there is plenty of tasty “simple” Beaujolais. Consider it the classification equivalent of a “simple” Côtes du Rhône - which range in quality from poor, to simple and pleasant, to delicious. (2) Beaujolais-Villages AOC, from grapes grown in and around 39 villages believed to have higher quality potential - the classification equivalent of a Côtes du Rhône-Villages. (3) Cru Beaujolais, wine from grapes grown in and around 10 villages that have the highest quality potential. Each of of the Cru villages is its own AOC, and the wine is named for the village. From north to south they are Saint-Amour, Juliénas, Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Régnié, Brouilly and Côte de Brouilly. They are the classification equivalent of Rhône villages that have their own AOC, like Gigondas, Vacqueyras, or Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
- A good introduction, which I know is available in this market for around $15 (the 2012 vintage, I believe), is a very good “simple” Beaujolais on the Kermit Lynch label made by Domaine Dupueble; it would be perfect for your BBQ. If neither Vin100 nor Hinton’s has it, get them to recommend something (though I personally recommend you not start with the wines of Georges Duboeuf).
In my opinion, you want your wine to refresh your palate and play nice with your flavors.
When considering refreshment, I like wines with citrus, mineral and acid.
With flavors, I like to think like you would when decorating with colors. You can pick flavors in the wine that will either contrast with the food or “pick up” flavors in the food.
If you have a salty, savory dish, I like a wine with some sweetness to contrast. If you have a sweet sauce, I like a really dry wine to contrast. You can pair a sweet sauce with a wine that has some sweetness, but only if that wine also has citrus, minerals, and acid to keep it refreshing.
One other note, think about Pork. Very common to put sweet sauces like apple sauce with pork. I think of Pork as a white meat. Chenin Blanc is a white wine that usually has apple/pear notes and can offer a little sweetness, but with acid, mineral and citrus to balance. This makes it a very good choice with any kind of pork, but especially BBQ.
Riesling is similar and also suitable, but if it were me, I’d pick a Chenin Blanc. Even dry Chenin Blanc can taste a little sweet, but in my opinion, you can go off-dry and still be good, as long as your guests will accept a wine with some sweetness. You know your guests and how adventurous they are. If they’re not open to a wine with some sweetness, stick with dry.
Dry or off-dry white: Loire Chenin Blanc or German Riesling
Dry Rose’ – dry, minerally, citrus, pink wine with some light red wine notes - very refreshing. Will pair well with everything and you can keep it cool because it’s appropriate to serve it chilled.
Chablis – dry, minerally, citrus white (Chardonnay) usually with green apple and pear notes, little to no oak. Would pair really well with the Mac and Cheese.
Chateauneuf du Pape from a lighter more acidic vintage like 2004 – red, hearty, savory, medium bodied wine. This is where you pick up the savory in the dish with savory in the wine, big flavors in the dish with big flavors in the wine, but with enough acid to refresh. Easy to find examples with little to no oak. Here’s your traditional red wine to go with meat.
I would echo the suggestion to make it fun by encouraging your guests to try different wines to see how they pair with various dishes.
When serving this way, I like to put three or four wine glasses at each setting so guests can have three or four different wines to try at their leisure.
My wife just had a Three Philosophers with her vinegar based BBQ and thought it went together very well. Just in case you were wondering about beer pairings.
The killer app is Garnacha based Rosado Cava. Look it up!
This . . . mostly.
I am not much of a sauce person when it comes to Q. My preference generally lies with Texas style BBQ. But, I love all styles, except Alabama white sauce, which is an atrocity. (That would probably be great with Zin.) So, when it comes to pork I usually prefer Champagne, Gruner, dry Riesling, some Roses in high humidity months and white Loire wines. For red I would recommend aged Rioja or a high acid Italian (especially if you having an acid based sauce). For brisket I still like Champagne and even some Gruners (Achleiten comes to mind). For reds- aged Rioja again, Italian reds from Mt. Etna, some Beaujolais, etc. If I want something different or interesting I usually grab a wine from the Canary Islands or something like an Occhipinti.*
*I probably have some form of BBQ twice a week.
We need to establish a rule that Champagne isn’t a necessary recommendation. It goes with everything. 
Start out with cold Sauvignon Blanc, preferably with citrus and good acidity.
With Dinner: Prisoner, served cool. (It’s got all the suggestions in it, Zin, Syrah, Grenache, Charbono, Petite Syrah and Cab for 2011 and everything but Grenache in the 2012.
My favorite pairing is riesling.
People here have already beaten me to the punch with my own suggestions, but let me as a foodie simplify WHY they are all good choices. You want your wine to either contrast with the rich BBQ (The food of the gods deserves ALL CAPS!) flavors to cleanse the palate and refresh or you want them to complement in order to have a BBQ nirvana. Just be aware that if you go the latter route that you will want plenty of water on hand for you and your guests as well.
Also, IMHO, you want as little oak in your wine as possible. As A BBQ and smoking enthusiast myself, I can attest firsthand that heavy oak in wine absolutely kills the delicious smoked flavor of your BBQ. What’s the point of all that effort if you then go and kill it off with what you drink? Go either completely unoaked or at least as little oak treatment as possible.
For contrast and refreshment:
champagne/sparkling wine
Chablis
dry to off-dry Vouvray
dry to off-dry Riesling
dry high-quality Sauvignon Blanc that actually tastes like a white wine and not a grass milkshake
a Moscato D’Asti that doesn’t hover too high over the 100 g/L residual sugar mark
A cranberry based fruit wine
For complement: Red wine is the way to go and I’m pretty sure everyone here is on board with that based on the recommendations alone. But for the love of the BBQ gods, please find one that, again, is really light on the wood or at least is so well-aged that the tannins and wood have receded. I don’t have the vast red wine experience many others here do but from what I know I would recommend:
A Pinot Noir with as little oak influence as possible
A well-aged Cabernet that has receded its tannin and oak influences
A well aged Merlot – vastly underrated great match with BBQ in my opinion
A dry blueberry or raspberry fruit wine
A good Amarone or even Recioto, believe it or not, though be prepared for a good long nap afterwards so keep a cot or lawn chair handy nearby
As an aside, I also strongly recommend craft beer, root beer, carbonated sweet tea and carbonated lemonade as well for variety and also so that the kids (if any) have something to drink. Preferably homemade on all of them if you can. Whatever you go with, make sure its got some chill. Yes, even the red wine. It doesn’t need a lot but it should have a slight of chill as well.
Hope this helps and enjoy all the delicious BBQ with whatever wines you do end up going with.
Hope this helps. Enjoy the wine and the BBQ.
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What are your thoughts on a dolcetto? Or would nebbiolo-based wine perform better?
OK, so coincidentally my husband decided to bring home BBQ last night for dinner. It’s from a GREAT place near us that is our go-to if we aren’t doing it ourselves. I decided it would be a good time to try a red I had on hand with my dinner as a practice run before we do our group dinner for our clients. Now I am keeping in mind that the bottle I opened I purchased purely for the size of the bottle. Someone on here I think recommended I keep a few 375ml bottles on hand to save wine that I open but won’t be able to drink right away. I bought a 375ml bottle of Louis Jadot Beaujolais in my last online order so dug it out.
I chilled it for about 45 minutes in the fridge before opening since I had a heads up from hubby on his ETA with the cue.
Anyway, yuk LOL. It was really weak to me, it actually tasted watered down and wimpy. I even got the sensation of my mouth watering about the 4th or 5th sip (the bad mouth watering sensation). It wasn’t like it had gone bad or something, just did not work for me. My husband tasted it and said “meh” and poured himself a glass of tea. I ended up pouring the rest of the bottle down the drain, but now I have my empty 375 for future use, so there is that .
Anyway, I will be in the Chamblee area in the next week or two so will go by Le Caveau and talk to them about trying something they recommend!
![[rofl.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/a/a7452fcd8e675af869f8da01174474a545b03944.gif "rofl"){kind=small}
Perhaps because they like it?
As Tran mentioned, there are really two ways to go - one is the “refresher mode” such as Champagne/Riesling (beer probably works best for this approach, although I liked the Chenin Blanc idea), the other is a red wine with a little spice, body and fruit that can stand up to the BBQ such as a good Zin.
I hope I didn’t ruin your day Keith!