Summer Wine and Food Pairing

By / Magazine / August 26th, 2009 / Like

What’s the best wine to sip on as I lounge out on my back deck this summer?

Spending time outside during the summer? You obviously aren’t from the Maritimes. Down my way, Monday is the answer to the question: What follows two days of rain? Ever the optimist, I always have some liquid treats ready and waiting for the few times Mother Nature does decide to grace my part of the county with a few extended rays of sunshine.

Give me a little heat and the first bottle to hit my ice bucket is always a rosé. It doesn’t get any better than a full glass of sophisticated, ripe berry fruit when your mind is switched to lounge mode. Modern interpretations of blush are miles away from the poorly made candied versions of the past; with countries like Argentina, Chile, South Africa and Australia proud of their leaner, cleaner and definitely dry pinkies.

You can drink reds if you have to, but summer afternoons are designed for white wines — especially those made from the juice squeezed out of grapes with fresh, floral personalities.

{loadposition contentad} Riesling is a prime choice. Depending where it’s grown it can be everything from bone dry to super sweet. Choosing one somewhere in the middle will guarantee you a glass of something laidback, thirst-quenching and surprising food-friendly if you decide to add a little fruit and cheese to the mix.

Lightly spicy grapes like Viognier, Gewürztraminer and Torrontés also create great cocktail style wines (those that really show their stuff when served sans food) without taking their forward flavours over the top.

If you’re desperate for a red, go with something packed with berries that will shine when served chilled. After some time on ice a French Beaujolais or Italian Valpolicella will cool down your day in nothing flat. 

 


 

What is your favourite wine to match with grilled hamburgers? How about hotdogs?

I’m glad you said favourite because you’ve asked a no-win question. In my years of experience, simple barbecued grub seems to release the inner sommelier in people, suddenly giving them unprecedented food matching insight (and a definite opinion on what works with their creations) when in any other wine and dine situation they’d be fumbling to get the cellar list open. I don’t know, maybe it’s the gas fumes.

Anyway, there are two opposing forces that can disrupt the union of a fine wine with a nicely grilled hamburger. One is the recipe that took it from ground beef to the perfect patty and the other is how condiment crazy you get once it hits the bun.   

Have a look at that recipe handed down to you from your grandmother on your father’s side that you’ve been keeping secret all these years. If it bows to the spice gods or includes a heaping helping of barbecue sauce, there’s going to be no way to avoid that action once the liquid and solids meet in your mouth.

And all that ketchup, relish, mustard etc., etc. you lather on post-Q offer even more of a challenge thanks to their cornucopia of conflicting flavours. Sweetness, spiciness, acidity, tanginess: You name it, and one of them has got it.

In an interesting twist of coincidence (that shows you I’m thinking), many of the wines from the previous letter (i.e. a rosé, floral whites or berry-based reds) would go very well.

I like heartier reds with my meat; and a pick with body, depth of fruit flavour and a little hint of peppery spice is the ideal partner. Think wines made with Zinfandel, Malbec and Aussie Shiraz (for the sweet fruit) or French Syrah (for the added spice).

Hotdogs are notoriously salty and while just about everything mentioned so far would work; a softer, fruit forward wine like a Merlot or a Grenache-led blend might be a safer bet when you bite into your wiener.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Fresh, funny and down-to-earth, Peter Rockwell is the everyman's wine writer. Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia he's worked in the liquor industry for over 30 years and has written about wine, spirits & beer since graduating from the School of Journalism at the University of King's College in 1986. His reviews and feature articles have been published in Tidings, Vines, Occasions, Where and on Alliant.net to name a few; he has been a weekly on-air wine feature columnist for both CBC-TV and Global Television and his wine column 'Liquid Assets' appeared weekly in two of Nova Scotia's daily newspapers, 'The Halifax Daily News' and 'The Cape Breton Post.' Today Peter's irreverent answer man column 'Bon Vivant' appears each month in Tidings Magazine and his weekly 'Liquid Assets' column is published across Canada in editions of the METRO newspaper. When not drinking at home, and at work, Peter travels the globe looking for something to fill his glass and put into words.

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