Wines for a Barbecue (this week, we offer one double-barreled tip) For most Americans, a holiday barbecue means it's beer time. stick with soda, lemonade, or iced tea. A couple of our Texasdaiquiris don't hurt either. people seem to think of wine when they fire up the grill. There's something about the outdoor setting, the atavistic pleasure of an open fire, and the masculine image of the grill that, for too many people, says this is no time to be puttin' on airs and foolin'But wine should never have become associated with pretense in the first place, and wine can be the perfect accompaniment to a barbecue--not so filling as beer, nor so potentially embarrassing For red wine lovers: Anything coated in barbecue sauce, with its smoky, spicy, and typically sweet flavors, admittedly poses a challenge for wine pairings. bold, fruity and spicy red wine, such as Zinfandel, American Syrah or Aussie Shiraz, or a French C�tes du Rhone should stand up to the barbecue

flavors--Zinfandel, being all-American, is my favorite for Memorial Day or the 4th of July. Chianti and Barbera, with their higher acidity, will also handle tomato-based sauces Grilled meats, like steak, can work with a wider range of reds, includingAnd hamburgers should be fine with just about any red wine--just pick your favorite (although I wouldn't suggest opening anything too old or complex--the wine's subtleties will probably be lost). just slightly chilled, is a popular choice. There's one hitch with red wines, though: come barbecue season, in most of the U.S., it's too darn hot. In hot weather, red wines lose their aromas, seem flabby on the palate, and aren't refreshing. spicy foods cry out for a mouth-cooling beverage, which is one reason beer is so popular. Crisp, intensely aromatic high-acid white wines, especially Sauvignon Blanc, work very well with grilled flavors. called Fum� Blanc) is great with grilled vegetables and shrimp, and

is the best wine with tomatoes. Off-dry (slightly sweet) Rieslings andgood wine in boxes uk Gewurztraminers should pair nicely with spicier and sweeter barbecuebest french wine in australiaChardonnay, however, is probably not your best bet.best wine price india Or, try my current, all-purpose barbecue favorite: dry ros�, a summertimebest wine east coastGood ros�s combine the crispness and refreshment of white winebest food and wine magazine recipes (serve chilled) with unusual and intriguing flavors--some of the redbest port wine reviews

fruits typical of red wine, but also notes of tea, orange rind, strawberriesbest wine brands of indiaLook for ros�s from the southern Rhone, Languedoc,can i buy wine on amazon and Provence in France, Rioja in Spain, or such American examples asget red wine out of jeans Bonny Doon's Vin Gris de Cigare or Zaca Mesa's Z Gris. of fashion because of their association with cheap, sweet blush wines, ros�s are for me perfect summer wines. As for those blush wines, if they are what you enjoy, don't let anyoneSome say White Zinfandel is the ultimate wine for hot dogs!Sizzling, savory and irresistible, bulgogi is usually steak — the word’s literal translation is “fire meat”— sliced into ribbons, often marinated in soy, sugar, black pepper, garlic and sesame oil, then seared to a charry succulence on a griddle.

Along with galbi and bibimbap, it’s surely the most popular dish in L.A.’s many Korean restaurants, including fine bulgogi purveyors such as Park’s, Soot Bull Jeep or Gwang Yang.When not grilled table-side, few dishes are more theatrical. It’s rushed from the kitchen on a red-hot griddle, sizzling, spitting, steaming on its tiny cast iron altar like an offering, leaving an umami vapor trail between tables — often as not, it is a dish you wear home, on your clothes. For several minutes, it’s too hot to eat, a state of limbo that only heightens the expectation for the first bite. Most diners, either at Korean restaurants or at home — bulgogi is easily ordered as take-out or made in your own kitchen — wash down that first bite with often lackluster lagers such as Hite or OB. There’s soju, which in terms of food-pairing is like throwing gasoline on a brazier. Wine is almost certainly a better alternative. See the most-read stories in Life & Style this hour >> Pairings with bulgogi come with a couple of hurdles.

The first is that it can often be sweet, with sugar added to the marinade to offset the peppery heat. So this is an instance when the red-meat-with-red-wine dictum can be comfortably overturned, since several white wines would serve as a good foil.These can be wines with a touch of sweetness in their own right. The right dry Riesling, from Alsace, from the Rheingau, from Washington State, will pair well, as would a not-so-dry Pinot Gris from Alsace or Oregon. Chenin Blanc, from the Loire Valley regions of Anjou, Montlouis and Vouvray, will also have the acid and the mineral resolve to go up against this fire meat. Certain orange wines will also have the stuffing, as would a sturdier variety of rosé from Bandol, say, or maybe a dark Cerasuolo from the central Italian region of Abruzzo.As for reds, the heat-and-sweet dictates of bulgogi eliminate anything excessively tannic, full-bodied or oaky. Instead, you want a red wine that’s high in acid, low in tannin, firm but not astringent or drying on the palate, light but not exactly delicate.

Those strictures should point you to Barbera from the Piemonte, a Mencia from the Ribeira Sacra in Spain, or toothy Continental reds from Austria, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia. These are wines you may not be familiar with — made with varieties like Plavac, Blaufränkisch, St. Laurent and Teran — but these are places whose cool climates largely prevent them from making tannic monsters. Instead, they’re known for reds with dark berry flavors and firm, high-acid detail — and they won’t clash with the bulgogi. And let’s not leave out Lambrusco — the sparkling red wine from northern Italy justly renowned for its spectacular conjugality with challenging meat dishes. The wine is earthy and a bit funky when first poured, and most Lambruscos possess an inherent fruitiness that will mollify the heat and not get puckery. There’s an ever-growing number of very good dry Lambruscos on the market (mostly gone are the days of the sweet, cloying iterations), and they’ll make you very happy alongside a sizzling plate of barbecue.

Here are six wines to uncork when you want to drink something other than beer or barley tea with your Korean barbecue. Call any restaurant before you bring in bottles of your own —or order your bulgogi to go.2014 Eroica Columbia Valley RieslingZippy and lean, with a lemony scent and flavors more given to apple, Eroica has enough give and breadth to offset both the sweet and the heat in food. About $18 at Wally’s, Mission Wines and Woodland Hills Wine Co.2014 Cirelli Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo Rosato“Cerasuolo,” roughly translated, means “like a cherry,” and this wine’s color resembles a pint of Montmorency cherries, with robust raspberry tones and a gripping firmness of texture. About $17 at Lou Wine Shop.2014 Vietti Barbera d’Asti Tre VigneA lean strawberry scent and soft peppery accents meld with plum and red fruit flavors in Vietti’s flagship Barbera; it’s a textbook high-acid red for braised meats. About $18 at Manhattan Fine Wines and Hi-Time Wine Cellars.An indigo grape of Croatia with a scent that reminds you slightly of consommé, Teran’s dark plum flavors turn precise and on point in the finish, with mouthwatering acidity.