Picnic & BBQ Wines

Nine wines were tasted at ConsciousWine’s Picnic & BBQ Wine Class July 17th at Noble Coffee in Ashland, OR. All the wines sold for under $20. There were 2 exceptions. Brooks ‘Sweet Pea’ Riesling which sells for $22 so a discount is required to get you under $20, and the other… Jenny & Francois Selections, From The Tank.  A regular size bottle (750 ml) would sell for $8, but this wine is packaged in a 3-Liter box. In the box lives a tasty, organic nicely textured and flavoried red that’s stupid good for a box wine! It sells for $33 for 3-liters and the wine stays good for a long, long, time. You can also toss it to a friend, play catch, not worry about the wine being corked, and drink for quite a while. Perfect Picnic/BBQ wine, and it’s from an organic Co-op in Frances’ Cotes du Rhone region.

So what makes a good picnic/bbq wine?  Here’s some keys to look for:

• Lower alcohol. Look for whites under 13%, and reds under 13.5%. These wines work better with high salt/sodium foods. Why? Salt accentuates, and if the alcohol is high, it makes it stand out even more.
• Chills well. Look for wines where a crisp, fresh, vibrant style is their main asset. When that’s the case a good chill will make their assets shine.
• Reds that hit the spot include a lighter styled Pinot Noir (yes chill it a little), and Gamay (Beaujolais).
• In whites consider Riesling (Germany), Sauvignon Blanc, Gruner Veltliner (Austria), Albarino (Spain), and a load of 12.5% alcohol or less types from France & Italy.

Food & Wine Tip: In pairing wines with food, first look to match the weight. Light wine goes with light food. Heavy wine goes with heavy food. Then comes the flavor. Two thoughts here: like goes with like, or opposites attract. Tart wine goes with tart food. When you have them together, all of a sudden neither seems so tart. Opposites attract: tart wine with fatty food. Lemon is tart,  really tart. With fish (fatty), lemon is a marriage made in heaven, where neither tastes so extreme in the presence of each other.

A lot of picnic/bbq foods are high in salt/sodium. Salt also accentuates. On a hot summer day what works best? Something that can go with a bunch of different foods

Here’s the nine wines from the July 17th Class that all hit the spot for the hot days of summer:

1. Jenny & Francois Selections, From The Tank ($33 for 3-liter)
2. Domaine de Pajot, Cotes de Gascogne ’08 ($8)
3. Brooks ‘Sweet Pea’ Riesling ’08 ($22)
4. Domaine de la Senechaliere, Melon de Bourgogne, Marc Pesnot ’07 ($19)
5. Maysara Pinot Blanc ’08 ($17)
6. Pascal Granger Beaujolais Villages ‘Le Bouteau’ ’06 ($16.50)
7. 3 Degrrees Pinot Noir ’07 ($18)
8. Les Chemins de Bassac ‘Isa’ Vin de Pays de Cotes de Thongue ($13.50)
9. Laurel Glen Reds ($10)

And what about Zinfandel? Isn’t that the perfect BBQ wine? Goes great with ribs, burgers with blue cheese, and actually works with ketchup! it’s near the top the scale for high alcohol, so just hang out near Hydration Station (we’re talking water … drink lots!).

PS Looking for a rockin’ Conscious Zin? Check out Porter Bass (order from the winery direct). Frog’s Leap, Quivira, Preston, and Sobon are some other favorites.