Pairings
What loves what.
A working list, not a commandment. Match weight, match acid, or match the sauce — then ask the sommelier if the table is still arguing.
Spice
Barbecue (smoke, sauce, bark)
Sweet sauce plus smoke. Ripe fruit, a little spice, nothing too precious.
- Zinfandel or Shiraz
Jam and pepper for sauce and bark.
- Grenache / GSM
Red fruit that can take a chill outdoors.
- Sparkling rosé
For the fatty bits, and because picnic.
- Zinfandel or Shiraz