Pick wine by BBQ style: Spanish Grenache or Tempranillo, Dry Creek Zinfandel or Nero d'Avola for Memphis pork ribs; Malbec, Australian Cabernet or Washington Syrah for Texas beef brisket; Lodi or Paso Robles Zinfandel, Côtes du Rhône or Spanish Monastrell for Kansas City; and Australian Shiraz, California red blends or Languedoc reds for Carolina pulled pork.
Do you think BBQ only goes with beer? Think again. There is plenty of room on the table for a great glass of wine, with everything from brisket to ribs. Here is a quick guide to the four American BBQ styles, the wines to go with them, and some BBQ terms.
BBQ and Wine at a Glance
Memphis pork ribs: Spanish Grenache or Tempranillo, Dry Creek Zinfandel or Nero d'Avola
Texas beef brisket: Malbec, Australian Cabernet or Washington Syrah
Kansas City ribs, chicken and burnt ends: Lodi or Paso Robles Zinfandel, Côtes du Rhône or Spanish Monastrell
Carolina pulled pork: Australian Shiraz, California red blends or Languedoc reds
Wine for the Four Styles of American BBQ
Each regional style has its own meat, wood and sauce, and the sauce does a lot to steer the wine. Here is a breakdown of the four basic styles and the wines to pour with them.
1. Memphis: Pork Ribs and Shoulder
Meat of choice: pork
Wood of choice: hickory (oak, pecan, apple and cherry are also used)
Famous dish: pork spare or baby back ribs, "wet" (slathered with sauce after smoking) or "dry" (no sauce, just dry-rubbed with seasonings and smoked), plus pork shoulder
Malbec leads the list for Texas brisket; this one is from Mendoza's Uco Valley.
3. Kansas City: Ribs, Chicken and Burnt Ends
Meat of choice: beef and pork
Wood of choice: a mix
Famous dish: BBQ chicken, St. Louis-cut ribs, and burnt edges or ends
Sauce style: sweet tomato-based sauce with molasses
Wines to go with:Lodi or Paso Robles Zinfandel, Côtes du Rhône or Spanish Monastrell. Below: the Ridge Paso Robles Zinfandel and the Bodegas Volver Tarima Hill Monastrell this guide has long recommended, in current vintages.
Famous dish: pulled pork, or whole hog for a "pig picking"
Sauce style: vinegar-based in the east, tomato-based in the west; mustard-based sauce sweetened with sugar, molasses or honey is also served in Georgia and South Carolina
Barossa, South Australia, Australia ● Syrah/Shiraz
92 Wine Spectator
$23.97
$23.97
Why we picked it
A Barossa Shiraz, the Australian Shiraz style recommended for Carolina pulled pork.
BBQ Terms
A few definitions that will help guide you through any BBQ recipe:
Barbecuing is a low-heat, slow, indirect cooking method that uses wood and/or charcoal embers to both cook and smoke meat.
Grilling is a high-heat cooking method where food is cooked directly over an open flame.
American pit BBQ traditionally has the heat source, or "fire box," attached to the cooking chamber.
Dry rub or spice rub is a mixture used to flavor and/or marinate the meat, with salt and sugar as its base.
Marinade is an acid-based sauce used to flavor and tenderize the food.
Brining is marinating meat in a salt-water solution, which may be flavored with herbs and spices, to flavor, tenderize and preserve it.
Bark is the dark crust that forms on BBQ'd meat. It is highly prized by BBQ aficionados.
Boston butt or pork butt is a cut of pork from the upper part of the shoulder of the front leg, and may contain the blade bone.
Spare ribs are the long cut from the lower portion of the pig or cattle, specifically the belly and breastbone, behind the shoulder, and include 11 to 13 long bones.
Baby back ribs are taken from the top of the rib cage between the spine and the spare ribs, below the loin muscle. They are leaner and more tender than spare ribs.
St. Louis cut ribs are a rectangular cut containing the spare ribs and part of the baby back rib area. To many people, this is the best of all rib worlds.
Burnt edges or ends are cubed bits of meat from the point end of the brisket, served with sauce on top or on the side. They are a Kansas City specialty, served alone or in a sandwich.
BBQ and Wine Questions, Answered
What wine goes with Texas brisket?
Malbec, Australian Cabernet or Washington Syrah.
What wine goes with ribs?
For Memphis-style pork ribs, Spanish Grenache or Tempranillo, Dry Creek Zinfandel or Nero d'Avola. For Kansas City St. Louis-cut ribs with sweet sauce, Lodi or Paso Robles Zinfandel, Côtes du Rhône or Spanish Monastrell.
What wine goes with pulled pork?
For Carolina pulled pork, Australian Shiraz, California red blends or Languedoc reds.
What is the difference between barbecuing and grilling?
Barbecuing is low, slow, indirect cooking over wood or charcoal embers that also smokes the meat; grilling is high-heat cooking directly over an open flame.
