The days when ‘barbecue’ meant a lukewarm beer, bun and burger are long gone. We’re putting more effort than ever into our outdoor dining – from whipping up zingy marinades with ingredients you’d barely heard of five years ago to diligently waiting for that perfect halloumi char.
All this extra effort on the food front surely warrants some attention to your drinks choices, too. Here are the ten best wines to whip out for a summer barbecue – and the foods to pair with them.
A Growers Touch Durif 2020
Wickhams, £12.20 (or £10.98 when buying six bottles)
This punchy red wine has bags of fruit and touches of spice, so it pairs perfectly with equally punchy BBQ food (think beef brisket, sticky ribs or spicy sausages such as chorizo). It is made from 100 per cent Durif grapes (also known as Petite Sirah), famous for rich blueberry, blackberry and chocolate notes. The wine spent a short amount of time in oak barrels, helping it to pick up on the smoked woodiness of the barbecue.
Athlon Greek Assyrtiko
Aldi, £6.99
There’s a lot to be said for pairing foods from certain regions with wines that grow in the same area. This great value wine hails from the Greek region of Macedonia, which is abounds with lush sheep-filled pastures and brined white cheeses. Quaff it down with salty dairy dishes – such as feta salads or grilled halloumi. Aldi has a strong range of Greek wines, which flew off the shelves when BBC’s Saturday Kitchen described its 2020 Greek Assyrtiko as ‘one of the best value white wines on Britain’s shelves’. This – the 2022 version – won Bronze in the latest International Wine & Spirit Competition. It’s dry on the palate with fragrant hints of jasmine and citrus.
Graham Beck Rosé Brut NV
Waitrose, £16.99
Nothing can make an al fresco dinner sparkle quite like fizz. This rosé from one of South Africa’s best loved sparkling wine makers is perfect for sipping as an aperitif in the sun and also with food. Far cheaper than champagne, it has nonetheless aged in the same laborious process – lending it a similar complexity, dryness and toasty hints of brioche that prosecco just can’t match. Expect a creamy mousse of red fruits in your mouth. Pair it with grilled salmon, prawns or chicken.
Bordeaux Supérieur
Lidl, £5.99
Perfect if you’re entertaining in bulk and don’t want to break the budget, this medium-bodied red is surprisingly complex for a wine costing less than £6. Bordeaux reds are best with food and this one goes particularly well with lamb chops. The black erry fruit flavours also make it a good match for a venison burger (generally leaner and less calorific than beef).
Estevez Specially Selected Chilean Sauvignon Blanc 2022
Aldi, £6.29
Aldi has become known for its low-cost, high-quality wines and this Chilean number is a classic of the genre. It’s intense – zinging with lemon peel, white peach and pineapple. A natural bedfellow is the acidity of a good goat’s cheese, maybe molten atop a veggie burger patty or chunked up in a couscous salad. The Chilean Sauvignon is a touch drier and less tropical than its more popular New Zealand counterpart, so less likely to overwhelm food.
Pringle Bay Pinot Noir 2021
Majestic, £9.99 (or £7.99 when buying six bottles)
This succulent red offers fantastic value for money. It’s not overly heavy, with soft plum, cherry and summer fruit flavours. You could even serve it chilled on a very hot day, with some lightly spiced chicken. But equally if you want to serve it at room temperature with a burger, your guests won’t be complaining.
Le Versant Grenache Rosé 2022
Wickhams, £12 (or £10.80 when buying six bottles)
This salmon-pink rosé gives an injection of fun, fruity freshness to any barbecue table. Hints of strawberry and raspberry as well as a citrus zing mean it goes well with delicious yet unfussy vegetarian dishes such as grilled peppers or potatoes roasted in the embers of the fire. Go for foods that don’t require dousing in strongly flavoured sauces, which could squash the wine. Equally it could hold its own against lighter meats, such as herby pork or grilled chicken.
Waimea Estates Grüner Veltliner 2021/22, Nelson
Majestic, £13.99 (or £10.99 when buying six bottles)
Flavourful side dishes such as pesto pasta or dill-pickle potato salad deserve a bold wine such as this Southern Hemisphere Grüner Veltliner. It’s deliberately made ‘off-dry’ (i.e. some residual sugar has been left) to allow the sweetness of the fruit to shine through. The initial fruit salad burst of peaches and pineapple is smoothed off, though, by a finish that has a slight salty herbiness.
Chianti Riserva 2019
Lidl, £6.49
Chianti is known for having a rich palate that can encompass everything from red fruits to balsamic vinegar, dried herbs and smoke. As such, it’s a perfect wine for cutting through the high fat content of red meat – particularly beef. Pair this great value wine with thin slices of sizzled steak.
Altos de Torona Albariño
Waitrose, £14.99
The wine to drink if you’ve got seafood on the barbie, this Albariño bursts with fresh apple – smoothed out by a lovely acidity that avoids over-sweetness. The crisp citrusy taste goes beautifully with coriander and lime-marinated prawns and can even cut through fattier fish, such as salmon smothered in sweet chilli. It’s vegan, too – so for a plant-based option, try charred corn and guacamole or courgettes with salsa verde.
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