With the long Labor Day weekend just over the horizon, the end of the summer grilling season draws near. That means it’s time to take stock of the pantry and make one last run to the market for your favorite grilling wines.
The options are many and the choices personal, but the one common denominator all wine enthusiasts should pursue is affordability. A gathering around the end-of-summer BBQ is typically casual, so I look for wines that will complement casual dining, restricting my purchases to those that retail for $20 or less.
That doesn’t mean I sacrifice flavor or quality; merely that I am after wines that won’t compromise my budget for the better cuts of meat and/or fish. My personal suggestions follow:
SPARKLING — There is a celebratory aspect to the Labor Day weekend, so a bit of bubbly can help make the occasion special. To meet my budget restrictions, I generally opt for either prosecco or cava. Prosecco DOC, from Northern Italy not far from Venice, is light and easy on the palate and a perfect companion to most things spicy. Ruffino Extra Dry ($15) is slightly softer and sweeter than Zardetto Brut ($16), but both are fresh, clean and delicious. For a slightly higher price, you might opt for Freixenet’s Elyssia Gran Cuvee Brut Cava ($20), from northeastern Spain. Korbel’s Brut Rose ($11) is a domestic crowd-pleaser that is very, very good for the price. Serve all of these bubbles well chilled.
WHITE — For crisp and refreshing white wine on the domestic side, two of the best value options available are the 2012 Kenwood Sauvignon Blanc ($12) and the Dry Creek Vineyard 2012 Fume Blanc ($14), both sourced from the Sonoma County AVA. Both wines exhibit a good deal of fresh citrus, with a slightly herbal back note. These go well with grilled fish.
If shellfish is on the menu, I love to pair an albarino, either the 2012 Paco & Lola Albarino, Rias Baixas ($20) from Spain or Tangent’s 2012 Albarino, Paragon Vineyard ($17) from California’s Edna Valley. With spicy dishes, the Husch 2012 Gewurztraminer, Anderson Valley ($14) or the Robert Oatley 2011 Rose of Sangiovese ($15) would be my first options. And if you must have a chardonnay, at $16 the Francis Ford Coppola 2012 Diamond Collection Chardonnay, Monterey, is well balanced, satisfying and unpretentiously priced.
RED — This category is trickier than you might imagine, for the red wines must have enough flavor and oomph to stand up to bold, smoky aromas from the grill, but not to the extent they are heavy, leaden and overly tannic, which won’t play well on a warm day. My star red wine of the Labor Day show this year is the Bolla 2010 Le Poiane Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso, Italy ($15). The name of the wine is a mouthful, but so is the wine. It has richness and character, but the primary grape (corvina) is not as meaty or as harsh and mouth-puckering as, say, cabernet sauvignon. So it makes for a medium-bodied wine that is easily consumed young.
This particular wine is made in the ripasso method common in the Veneto region of Northern Italy, fermented on the skins of grapes used for the region’s big red, Amarone. On the domestic side, two California Zinfandels come quickly to mind for the task of facing savory grilled meats: Alexander Valley 2010 Sin Zin ($19.99) and Dry Creek Vineyard 2010 Heritage Zinfandel ($19).
And my best value red, Antano 2008 Rioja Reserva, Spain ($12) is an absolute steal at the price. For those grilling salmon as well as meats and seeking a crossover red, the Navarro 2011 Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley ($19) is as good as any domestic pinot you are likely to find under $20.
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