Which wines pair with a meat barbecue? It is a common question when a friend invites you to their BBQ and you decide to bring a bottle of wine. To answer this question, we must first distinguish between the various types of grilled meat. Here are our recommendations for the perfect wine-and-barbecue pairing:
Beef ribs (with and without bone), fillets, sirloins and the celebrated Florentine steak, an indispensable feature of any respectable barbecue, typically 1-1.5 kg for approximately 5-6 cm thickness of succulent goodness. This is a cut of beef loin from veal or prized beef cooked over bright coals and seasoned only with salt and extra virgin olive oil. We suggest enjoying these delicacies with a glass of red wine, choosing between an excellent Chianti or a Brunello di Montalcino. The fruity notes and that typical spiced character of the Chianti DOCG Leonardo da Vinci pair beautifully with grilled red meat. Also excellent is the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG San Giovanni Battista with its intense aroma and dark fruits, and its tannic, warm, robust taste.
A valid suggestion for this pairing is: “lighter meat, lighter wine”. This is not the taste of a beef steak, but chicken too has its own flavour which with grilling is certainly enhanced by skin that is crispy and ultra savoury, thanks to the help of sauces and seasonings. Consider chicken wings. The same applies to turkey, with its delicate and more substantial meat. These white meats pair excellently with our Vermentino Toscana IGT from the Leonardo da Vinci line: broad, fragrant and balanced floral aromas precede a savoury and very fresh sip.
Braised meat rolls, chop steaks, spare ribs, pulled pork, sausages: savoury and rather fatty, pork meats are a true must for any BBQ. With grilled pork meat there is nothing better than a red wine such as a Rocca di Cesena Sangiovese Superiore Riserva Romagna DOC.
With lamb, the barbecue meat takes on a more intense and spiced flavour; consider the typical Abruzzese lamb skewers. Grilled lamb meat is often enhanced by the addition of herbs and oily condiments, and for this reason we suggest pairing it with a powerful and intense wine: S.to Ippolito Toscana IGT from the Villa Da Vinci line. A Tuscan red wine of imposing structure, with evident balsamic qualities combined with blackberry jam notes.
On the grill there might also be beef burgers; the first piece of advice is to consider red wines. Burger meat has a different density compared to steak: it is a soft and less compact mixture, which therefore prefers a wine that is not too aggressive. The secret to a good burger-wine pairing is not to overpower the meat’s flavour. With a classic beef burger, for example, we suggest pairing it with a glass of Syrah, such as our Linarius Syrah Toscana IGT. The finest Syrah grapes, cultivated in the vineyards surrounding Villa da Vinci, reach the highest varietal expressions: fragrance, intensity and spiciness of their pulpy, violet-tinged, fruity character.
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