Grillin’ & Chillin’: California Zinfandels & Rosés for Your Barbecue
As this wonderful summer comes to an end and we try to get in all of our favorite activities, it’s nice to finish the day with a long meal, grilling with family and friends and sipping some delicious wines.
While I like many choices of wine to go with barbecue, one of my favorites is the often-overlooked California zinfandel. The 2019 vintage for zinfandel happened to be a great one. It was a warm growing season that produced very supple, juicy wines with great balance and harmony. Most of the zinfandel grapes were already off the vines before the Kincade Fire started in late October that year.
Another great wine choice for barbecue is rosé. While it may seem an unlikely pairing, many of the darker, fuller bodied rosés make great choices for grilled foods.
Recommended zinfandels:
BEDROCK OLD VINE SONOMA ZINFANDEL (Sonoma): Morgan Twain-Peterson is the son of legendary zinfandel producer Joel Peterson from Ravenswood Winery. Morgan started his Bedrock winery in 2007, and has quickly become quite a star himself. Says Wine Spectator: “The 2019 Old Vine Zinfandel is gorgeous, with bright acids and floral overtones, it is bright and beautifully layered. A blend of grapes from stellar sites.”
BUCKLIN ANCIENT FIELD BLEND OLD HILL RANCH (Sonoma): I love the Bucklin zinfandels. This is the bigger zinfandel, made from original vines planted in the 1880s. Organically produced, Wine Spectator says it offers “plenty of kick, but remains focused and balanced, with gutsy smoked pepper, blackberry, bittersweet chocolate, and green peppercorn accents, that build structure toward broad-shouldered tannins.”
DANCING CROW ZINFANDEL (Lake County): This delicious field-blend Zinfandel includes fruit from the historic Old State 1901 vineyard, creating a wine with the bright red fruits of zinfandel, integrated with mocha, clove, and dark fruit flavors of the field blend. Great value!
BONESHAKER ZINFANDEL (Lodi): A lushly textured, full-bodied wine that lifts beautiful blueberry and blackberry flavors on fine-grained tannins. It has a mouth-fill viscosity and long finish.
DECOY ZINFANDEL (Sonoma): This is a beautiful, lush and engaging Zinfandel, with aromas and flavors of blackberry, blueberry, black pepper, cherry, plum and licorice. There is bright acidity and silky smooth tannins with hints of vanilla, nutmeg and spice lingering on the finish.
SEGHESIO FAMILY VINEYARDS ZINFANDEL (Sonoma): Seghesio zinfandel has been a favorite of mine for decades. As Wine Spectator describes it, “plump and briary, this is a zesty update on old-school Zinfandel, offering wild berry, underbrush, and licorice flavors that build richness and structure on the lively finish.”
Another great choice of wine for your summer grilling is rosé. Rosé is the wine of summer, and while you can drink rosé year-round, it’s perfect on a hot summer night. A lighter rosé will be fine with appetizers and salads and grilled fish. But it’s darker colored, more concentrated and robust rosé that will pair well with lamb burgers, grilled veggies, baby back ribs, lobster, tuna, salmon, hot dogs and shish kebabs, among many other foods.
Recommended rosés
SPERINO ROSA DEL ROSA (Piemonte, Italy): Sperino is always one of my favorite rosés, and always a top-scoring one. It is made from the Nebbiolo grape, has bright red fruit and citrus flavors, and a juicy acidity. This is a more concentrated and complex rosé, which makes it a perfect pairing with food.
MURI-GRIES LAGREIN ROSATO (Alto Adige, Italy): Another great Italian rosé. Lagrein is the name of the grape from which the wine is made. From Vinous Media: “A burst of wild strawberries laced with lavender and sweet smoke makes quite an impression as the 2021 rosato opens in the glass. It’s silky smooth, with depth seldom seen from rosé, as mineral tinged cherry is accelerated by zesty acidity.” This is a rosé that can age for several years. Drink 2022-25.
CHATEAU DE PIBARNON BANDOL ROSÉ (Bandol, France): This beautiful rosé is certified organic, made from 65% Mourvèdre and 30% Cinsault grapes from the highest elevation in Bandol. Vinous describes it as “mineral accented citrus, redberry, and succulent floral and herb scents, along with spice notes. Chewy and sharply focused in the mouth offering well-concentrated strawberry, bitter cherry, blood orange, and smoky mineral qualities. Densely packed with mineral and floral notes.” This is another rosé capable for aging several years.
For some, nothing says summertime quite like grilling and, of course, sipping your favorite wine. Here’s to many more warm nights of long, enjoyable meals. Happy grilling.
Please drink responsibly.
