Summer Wine Pairing

By Chuck Dressel

It’s barbeque season! Fire up the grill, and let us help you choose the best wine to enhance the char-grilled flavor.  

Wine Pairing Tips:

• For a spicy barbecue sauce:

• Mount Pleasant’s Villagio: It’s crisp, fruity and fresh.
• Mount Pleasant’s Harvest Red: A very fruit forward red wine, which is great for sipping on a hot day and complements spicy flavors and picnic fare.

• For a sweet barbecue sauce:

• Mount Pleasant’s White Zen: Similar to a White Zinfandel, White Zen is aged in stainless steel for a fresh, fruity experience.
• Mount Pleasant’s Highland. A medium-bodied palate leads to an almost port-like sweetness in the finish along with soft tannins and moderate acidity. Aromas and flavors of cranberries, blackberries and raspberries.

• For chicken and fish:

• Vignoles is a French-American hybrid grape, which produces a large amount of intense fruit flavors from small grape clusters. A 'floral' wine with a sweetness level of 1.5% sugar.
• Rhineland complements pork and chicken. This semi-dry white wine boasts aromas and flavors of apples, tree fruits and melon.

• For beef and other red meat:

• With its complex fruit and wood flavors, our new Chambourcin is an excellent complement for beef.
• For those who enjoy a deep, full-bodied red, Norton pairs well with beef, wild game and lamb, with its flavors of spice, berries, toasted oak and vanilla.
• If you are preparing steaks of filets, Mount Pleasant’s Cabernet Sauvignon is an excellent choice. A medium-bodied palate leads to a finish offering simple cherry fruit, soft tannins and moderate acidity.

Have fun with your wine pairings. The most important thing is to drink what you like.