End-of-summer patio parties call for tossing steaks onto coals. And choosing the right wines for such fare seems simple enough -- dark reds to go with grilled meats.
But no one eats just steak at these parties. Patio shindigs start with chips and dips, nuts, crackers, cheese and olives, plus finger food (bruschetta, lahvosh sandwiches), dips (hummus, carrots, guacamole, cherry tomatoes, broccoli), coleslaw and maybe even caviar.
Sounds like the best match here is iced beer. Domestic brews can be fine, but for such diverse flavors, I prefer more interesting beers such as IPAs, session brews and dozens of craft versions, all of which are more fun than simple American lagers.
And there are many imports that can be exciting, not to mention dry ciders and several other new beverages that have come on the scene within the last few years.
But this is a wine column. And with all of the above foods to accompany barbecued offerings, the best wine to choose, for me at least, has to be pink.
Rose is not only a festive wine, but they're better than they have ever been. And nothing particularly expensive works well.
I do love drier versions, but when you're sitting next to the barbecue pit complete with its smoke invading your nose, you're not going to be picking up subtleties in your beverage. So make it simple and tasty.
Most grilled foods represent casual dining. As such, I always seek a dry or off-dry rose. There are literally dozens of wines in this category, many from Spain and the south of France, but California also does a wide variety of pink wines.
One of the most widely available is the 2020 Pedroncelli Dry Rose of Zinfandel from Dry Creek Valley (about $14), which is always a tasty and fruity rose with strawberry notes. Also widely available (about $15) is the dry Bonterra Rose, a blend of six grapes including the aromatic grenache.
Neither of these two excellent choices is particularly dry. Both have a certain richness in the mouth and are fine served very cold.
One important bit of advice regarding all roses: select only younger versions. Once you get back to 2018 or even earlier, the flavors have already been compromised by a little too much oxygen.
It's too soon for the 2021 California pink wines to be released, but those that have arrived from the southern hemisphere, such as from Chile, Argentina, New Zealand and Australia, can be delightful.
At this point, the best rose wines from California are from 2020, with a few 2019's still satisfactory to consume.
If you're looking for a top-quality pink wine with excellent fruit, my favorite grapes are pinot noir and grenache. Occasionally, sangiovese can deliver a superb pink wine as well. One of the best of those is from Barnard Griffin in Washington state (the 2020 is $14). Slightly sweeter than many.
Good quality pink wines can be served pretty cold without losing much of their character. Those from the south of France (especially Provence) can often be found in the $8 to $11 price range and are perfectly delightful.
One final beer suggestion. Never consume a fine beer from the container in which it came. People who do that are avoiding the aroma of the beer, which, if it is any good, is one of the reasons you buy it. My suggestion: use a traditional tulip-shaped wine glass for a decent beer to allow it to open up.
Also, when served too cold, most brews become mute. Cool is better than ice cold.
Wine of the Week: 2020 Carol Shelton Rendezvous Dry Rose, Mendocino County ($19) -- A little more expensive than most, but it is one of the best in California, made from Carignane grapes. It offers phenomenal ripe cherry and strawberry aromas with a hint of watermelon.
To find out more about Dan Berger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
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7 comments:
KF, While I do enjoy reading Berger's columns, finding a mentioned wine in Mississippi is nigh impossible. So you either special order, import on your own, or reverse the process and search for a review of an available wine. All of which are problematic. How about posting reviews of locally available wines?
"...finding a mentioned wine in Mississippi is nigh impossible."
Maybe try Natural Light in a tulip-shaped wine glass? I'm sure all the finer places around MS will be stocking up on such glasses to help the vast number of unrequited oenophiles around the state.
Another option would be to go to your local wine shop ask if there is a comparable wine to the one reviewed. Mississippi has a fantastic selection of wines available from all over the world. Not all wines have distribution in all states and some wines are made in very limited quantities, so it is not necessarily just because we live in Mississippi that they are hard to get.
"Mississippi has a fantastic selection of wines available from all over the world."
Yeah, it's almost as if Henry Ford was the state's sommelier.
"...so it is not necessarily just because we live in Mississippi that they are hard to get."
Yes, it necessarily is exactly that. It is long past time for the state to get out of the wine and liquor business. For every reason there is.
All shitty wines recommended by someone pissed off they can’t afford the good stuff. Dan Berger wouldn’t know a good wine from a box of muscadine.
10:03- Mississippi does indeed have thousands of fine wine choices available through our ABC. The fact is, the ABC does not limit what products are brought into our state. They are a tax machine only and every product is taxed equally. You may disagree with the taxing of alcohol, but the idea that they limit what stores carry is bogus. Secondly, if you think giving wine over to Walmart, Costco and Kroger is going to increase selection-wrong again. Do you really think Kroger is going to have a Bordeaux section? Our system is flawed like most are, but mis-information doesn't help anything.
"You may disagree with the taxing of alcohol..."
and
"Mississippi does indeed have thousands of fine wine choices available through our ABC."
This has nothing to do with taxing it. I have no particular issue with a reasonable tax on it. The same is true for many other products. According to liquor store owners around the state, they cannot even get a lot of everyday liquors, much less wines. About 2 weeks ago, I went into a local store to pick a couple of things up. Not a single 1st, 2nd, or 3rd choice were in stock (and all were normally stocked items with a empty slot on the shelves). Same thing at three other stores, two in a different part of the state. All blamed it on the state. We had a couple joining us from Louisiana and they stopped at a well-known store in NO. They were able to get everything on everyone's list plus some extras, all of which were in plentiful supply. Hell, most of SE LA is largely shut down at the moment, but checking two NO area chains show plenty of availability. I have no idea if the MS stores are lying (I doubt it) but it clearly isn't lack of product in the supply chain causing it. But that aside, the state simply shouldn't be in ANY product supply business, liquor or anything else.
"Do you really think Kroger is going to have a Bordeaux section?"
Kroger must think that because it does that very thing, at least in other locations. Ever been to a Kroger in, for example, Texas? HEB, a large Texas chain, has an even larger wine selection. Given the number of chains and individual retailers also present throughout Texas, it doesn't appear to preclude either of them from operating. I suspect that any given Kroger would carry whatever their customers would buy at a level to support that product taking up shelf space, whether it is wine, cheese, or fresh yak testicles. But again, what Kroger might or might not do isn't the issue - the state simply should not be in the product distribution business, whether wine, cheese, or even yak balls.
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