Best wines for a great British barbecue

No one likes a barbecue more than a winemakerand in my experience, no one does a barbecue better, either. From Barossa and Mendoza to Stellenbosch, Corbières and Rioja, the vineyard barbie, braai or asado is the epitome of wine-country cooking. Meat and fish over a smoking fire of vine cuttings is almost always the centrepiece of any end of harvest party or visitor hospitality.

Little thought goes into the question of which bottles to drink on these occasions, given the obvious answer: the host’s own wines. Happily, this will usually work on the same “what grows together, goes together” principle that applies to so many classic wine and food matches. It would be hard to devise more perfect combinations than, say, tiny, tender lamb chops with softly mature tempranillo from Rioja or Ribera del Duero; a bursting, sweetly spiced morcilla black pudding and a charred and bloody slab of bife de chorizo (sirloin) steak with a fragrant, sweetly ripe, structured malbec from the Uco Valley; or an impossibly plump tiger prawn tinged with chilli, garlic and citrus with a startlingly limey draught of ocean-cool, bone-dry Clare Valley riesling.

I find choosing wine for my own occasional cookouts more complicated. That’s because the typical British barbie is at least as much about the chaotic clash of strongly flavoured salads, condiments, and marinades as the smoke-infused proteins that they are meant to accompany. Vinegar, sugar, chilli, ginger, garlic, lemon juice, yoghurt, coriander, coconut milk, the smoke of the barbecue itself: these are the ingredients of a sommelier’s most feverish anxiety dreams.

Still, there are some wines versatile enough for job. For reds, I think the little cushion of natural sugar you find in some Puglian reds and the riper end of Californian zinfandel, coupled with their sweet-sour plum and black cherry fruit and meaty structure, is perfect for a fully loaded burger and heavily dressed salads. If you’re having spiced chicken, fish or halloumi, a white with a similar mix of weight and slight sweetness, such as a pinot gris from Alsace or New Zealand, would be my pick.

Neither of these styles could be described as light in body or alcohol and given barbecues generally happen during the day and, in theory, hot weather, I often reach for something with a lower abv and a more pronounced refreshment factor. The deeper-coloured rosés made in Tavel in the southern Rhône Valley combine robustness with revitalising freshness, as, indeed, do many orange wines. If all else fails, do what many winemakers do at a barbecue: open an ice-cold beer.

Six wines for the barbie

Por do Sol Vinho Verde
Portugal 2023 ( £5.25, Tesco )
With its slight spritz, crisp lemon and lime and tropical fruit tang, hint of sweetness, not to mention a mere 9% alcohol, this fun northern Portuguese white is an ideal aperitif for a hot summer’s day barbie and an excellent pairing for prawns.

Domaine Maby Prima Donna
Tavel, Rhône, France 2022 ( from £14.50, thewinesociety.com ; wickhamswine.co.uk )
From Tavel, a rosé-only zone in the heart of the southern Rhône valley, this is closer to a light red in style, with a lovely intensity of slightly chewy, candied red berries and currants.

Calmel & Joseph Ams Tram Gram Pomone
Vin de France 2023 ( from £15, thewinecellar.wine ; standrewswine.co.uk ; vinogusto.co.uk )
Orange wine’s mix of red wine tannin and depth plus white wine refreshment provides all the versatility needed to make it perfect for the barbie spread. This one has tropical fruit, spice and snappy-tangy yellow plum.

Bodegas Altolandon Mil Historias Malbec
Manchuela, Spain 2022 ( £15, drinkmonger.com )
No barbecue is complete without a bottle of malbec but it doesn’t have to be from Argentina. This rare Spanish sightingoffers a vividly fruity, joyously juicy wine for all manner of smoky grilled red meat.

Jim Barry The Lodge Hill Riesling
Clare Valley, Australia 2022 ( £15.99, or £11.99 as part of a mixed case of six, majestic.co.uk )
A benchmark example of the super-dry style of riesling perfected by the winemakers of South Australia’s Clare Valley. Exuberant lime, riper stone fruit and the steely feel make this the one for the seafood-based grill.

Terre di Faiano Primitivo
Puglia, Italy 2022 (£19.99, 1.5-litre bag in box, Waitrose)
Bag-in-box is perhaps the most convenient way of serving wine at a barbie or any al-fresco dining. Richly plummy, figgy and sweetly ripe fruit makes this an ideal foil for hamburgers.

Related: Refreshing, thirst-quenching, distinctive: 20 best wines for the summer