Summer Barbecue Wine Options

Summer is in full swing! It's time to barbecue as much as possible, to have your friends over at every opportunity, and to enjoy the sun whenever you can. To that end, I've lined up a slew of affordable reds and whites for you to pair with barbecued foods and backyard shindigs.

Keep in mind that these are all bigger, more full-bodied red wines Anytime you have big flavors from meat, you need to get big wines to stand up to what you're grilling. The addition of sauces, marinades, and rubs also adds intensity, further pushing palates away from pinot-land.

The white wines, on the other hand, are crisp, dry, and full of refreshing acidity. On a hot day the last thing most of us want is a big, heavy, oaky chardonnay weighing down our taste buds. To that end, I assembled a panel of well known producers' white wines to taste and talk about.

Here then are two lists, of whites and reds, for your consideration as you barbecue this summer:

White:

2010 Parducci Small Lot Blend Sauvignon Blanc: Despite the $11 suggested retail price, this is single vineyard sauvignon blanc, from Hildreth Farm in Mendocino County. Crisp notes of green apple, grass, and zesty citrus mix with summer melon to create a balanced, food-friendly wine. Very drinkable and at a great price. Pair this with ceviche, fish tacos, chicken salad, or solo on a hot day.

2010 Parducci Small Lot Blend Pinot Gris: I think it's telling that I tasted this and thought it might be a steel-tank-fermented, un-wooded, cheap chardonnay. 6% Muscat Canelli was added to the gris, creating an intersting, barely-off-dry citrus and melon set of flavors. If sauvignon blanc or 100% pinot gris is too dry for your friends, I bet they'd love this. Very pretty aromatics, so don't over chill it. $11 srp.

2011 St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley: Loads of tropical fruit beats down a touch of green grass that dares show itself. I like that though. Crisp acidity frames the melange of passion fruit, kiwi, and lime flavors. There is a subtle but welcome minerality at play, enhancing the texture. Pair this gem with grilled-shrimp quesadillas and fresh guacamole. $15 srp.







Red:

2009 Parducci Small Lot Blend Merlot: The bouquet is all red cherry and licorice, with a bit of a medicinal quality. On the palate it's spicy, cherry, and vanilla oak. This brings the easy-drinking flavors you expect from an inexpensive merlot. Give this one to your "I don't like red wine" crowd. SRP: $11. 13.5% abv.

2010 Hey Mambo "Sultry Red" Red Wine: An explosion of red fruit; think cherries and raspberries mixed together. It's sweet and easy-drinking, with ample ripe fruit flavors and a tease of vanilla-oak lurking in the background. The finish is just dry enough to stand up to bigger foods. Another "I don't like red wine" crowd pleaser. SRP: $10. 13.5% abv.

2010 Graffigna Centenario Malbec Reserve: This bouquet is all dark aromas, think baking chocolate, spices, and leather. Some black cherry and blueberry peek out too. More full-bodied than the previous two wines, the Graffigna has ample tannin to stand up to steak. Flavors of black fruit, herb, and bittersweet chocolate create a nice texture on the palate. Worth opening a few hours before your party. SRP: $15. 14% abv.

2008 Ash Hollow Headless Red: This one is intriguing, it smells a little reductive but revels aromas of maple and bacon, black fruit, and wood. 58% merlot, 26% cabernet sauvignon, 13% syrah, 3% malbec. There maybe some volatile acidity here too, but it's not a big deal. More maple flavor comes through on the palate, along with spices and black cherry. This one is smooth and easy to sip, while retaining enough tannin and acid to stand firm against a steak or summer sausage. 30 months spent in oak. 14.1% abv.

2009 Parducci Small Lot Blend Cabernet Sauvignon: When I first opened this bottle, I was walloped over the head with a bag of oak. The wine has settled down a lot, with the oak partially retreating and letting some warm red fruits, earthy funk, and green herb come out. Firm tannin restrain that red fruit on the palate, creating a simple yet effectively structured wine to pair with steak or ribs. It's more complex than expected, especially at the $11 price point. 14.0% abv.

2011 Big House Red: The fact that this wine has over 15 different grape varieties should tell you something. My sample showed up in a 3L cask or bag-in-box, in an effort to prove that quality isn't lost. 3L is about four bottles, making this a $5.50 per-bottle red wine. The nose is an explosion of fruity aromas, think raspberry jam, strawberries, blackberries. It's no different on the palate, with jammy fruit leading the way, thankfully reined in by a bit of acidity. It'll go great during the summer when you're headed to a bbq party, and fits the very definition of "crowd pleaser". 13.0% abv.

2009 Ravenswood Sonoma County Old Vine Zinfandel: Joel Peterson consistently produces great wines at reasonable prices. This zinfandel, coming in around $15 a bottle, has all the hallmarks of old vines from warm climates. Aromas of wood smoke, tar, plum, and spices rush out of the glass. I like the complexity, especially at this price point. Lots of dark, intense red fruit to pair with ribs too, along with a wonderful peppery flavor that contrasts with some dark, dusty soil. A tight, clean package of deliciousness. 14.5% abv.




2009 Ravenswood Vintners Blend Petite Sirah: Imagine a bowl full of blueberries and blackberries sitting in a field of dark, earthy soil. Now imagine someone burning oak just a few hundred yards away. That's the nose of this petite sirah. It tastes spicy and rich, with lots of black fruit, dark chocolate, and firm tannin to restrain those two primary flavors. Practically begs for a thick steak, and is a really good deal at $7.99. 13.5% abv.







To test the wines out in more real-life conditions, I had them all open for a barbecue that several of our friends attended. Each wine was tasted along with the food, which included ribs and hot dogs, among other things. My personal favorites were the Ravenswood wines, and the Graffigna Malbec. The group did enjoy the Big House Red and Hey Mambo for what they were, big, fruity, easy-drinking reds.

Each of these wines is worth a pop 'n pour when you are grilling and want something to please a wide range of palates. Perhaps the best part is the pricing, all can be found for between $10 and $15, save for the Big House, but you get a lot of wine in that octagon!

These wines were media samples.

Beau Carufel

Mushal Winery and Their Merlot Rosé

At the beginning of February, I tweeted a feeler asking if any wineries who followed me were interested in sending samples for a rosé tasting the San Diego Wine Mafia was going to be doing. Happily for me, Sonia Sandu-Torre, the Director of Marketing at Mushal Winery & Vineyards responded offering to send some samples of their 2009 Mushal Merlot Rosé from the Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma.

The story behind the founding and evolution of Mushal is one that should be told. Their website does a far better job telling it than I ever could, so click here to learn more about the founder, Avtar Singh Sandhu and his vision. We're quite fortunate to have many small wineries and vineyards in California, and supporting them is the right thing to do, period. These self-proclaimed "little guys" are making wine not for a balance sheet or a business, but because wine enhances the human experience.

Sonia was generous enough to send me two bottles of Mushal's rosé, one of which was opened at the Rosé Rumble and tasted by the San Diego Wine Mafia. The other was opened about two weeks later and tasted by me alone. No blind or double-blind tasting here, but I had forgotten the suggested retail price as I made my tasting notes.

I noticed the color right away, a beautiful pink with hints of orange mixed in, veering a bit towards the lighter end of the rosé color spectrum. One day I want to try a very dark rosé and compare it to the lightest example I can find. I don't think one or the other will be sweeter based on color, but I want to see what flavors present themselves in each wine. Pardon my thoughts wandering away for a moment.

The nose reveals strawberries and raspberries with a hint of rhubarb. Some exotic florals feel like they are coming out as well. Mushal's rosé smells sweet too, not tart like some other examples I've had of late. One area of concern is a slight prickle of alcohol and when I checked the bottle, I was a bit saddened to find it's 14.4%. In my opinion that is about 2% too high and actually can defeat one of the purposes of a rosé. The French example I recently tasted came in around 12.5%, much more accessible on a hot summer (or spring) day. Alcohol can weigh down the feeling of a wine and I suspect it might do so with the Mushal.

Tasted at a temperature a few degrees below room temperature, as I do with nearly all my wines regardless of color. Sweet tasting right on the front palate, with acidity that came through quickly enough to keep me from cringing. Very good! Still, a touch rough around the edges and I think that comes from the high-ish alcohol. I tasted raspberry, melon, and fresh cut hay in this merlot rosé. There's a silky core of flavor that I find immensely appealing, it feels like each sip glides across your tongue. Unfortunately the pesky alcohol gremlin rears up on the finish, delivering too much heat for a rosé, for me at least.

Mushal's 2009 Merlot Rosé does remain light on the palate and is very refreshing. It won a gold medal at the 2011 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, high praise from some very practiced palates. If you chill this more, perhaps an hour in your refrigerator, the acidity will shine through without the encumbrance of the alcohol. I'd like to see Mushal's next rosé come in at a much lower alcohol level while still retaining this set of scents and flavors. As it stands, the 2009 Mushal Merlot Rosé gets a B and a BUY recommendation.

The sheer variety of foods you could pair with a merlot rosé makes the Mushal a wine you should keep in your collection. Plus, like I said before, I am a strong advocate of supporting the little guys, the boutique producers. Mushal is definitely one of those and out of every $20 bottle of rosé sold, 15% of that goes to The Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation. Just like Charity Case and Cleavage Creek, Mushal is giving back. For that, we need to support them. I look forward to bringing you their red Merlot bottling soon.

This was received as a media sample.

Beau Carufel