Print
ShareKadai BBQs and Firepits offer you the opportunity to experience the very best in outdoor cooking and leisure, this won't be news to you. So, to enhance the ultimate outdoor cooking experience what wines will you drink with your food??
To answer that question, you will need to open your horizons, there are now thousands of wines available that complement barbecue food but many of us still play safe, preferring to opt for 'old friends' such as Aussie Merlot and Chardonnay!
In the past we have typically gone for heavier reds and oaked whites with BBQ's. Was this to cover the carbonised nature of our efforts? Remember the days of black sausages, chicken drumsticks that looked cooked but oozed red, or burgers that bounced? Well, these days, with the more sophisticated consumer stepping outside of their sausage/burger/drumstick comfort zone and considering ever more adventurous recipes, why not engage more with the plethora of wines available from around the world. I promise you, there is life outside of Merlot and over-oaked Chardonnay!
Here are a few suggestions to tantalise your taste buds and get the most from your Kadai food and Wine experiences:
#1 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc
This wine was made to be paired with Goats Cheese. Try this little mop roll……sliced Aubergine wrap with sundried tomato, a leaf of basil, and a chunk of Goats Cheese. A couple of minutes on the BBQ and you have a sublime taste sensation that is enhanced with the gooseberry and herbal overtones of a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.
#2 Southern France Viognier
Get your sea food and crustaceans out for this slightly spicy varietal, stick them in a Kadai Skillet, add lemon, olive oil, seasoning and basil, open your bottle of Viognier, take a sip, and enjoy! Summer has truly arrived and you are instantly transported to the Languedoc on a hot hazy day.
#3 Australian Riesling
A much overlooked grape variety that was once dubbed the 'new Chardonnay' but alas connotations with the cheap German wine of yesteryear seem to have killed off its aspirations on this front! At its best a rich, substantially bodied Aussie Riesling has the ability to enhance your food with exotic fruit, a slight sweetness and is perfect with spicy Asian Chicken cooked slowly straight onto the grill.
#4 Sancerre Rosé (Pinot Noir)
It is no surprise that the French drink so much Rosé, it goes with most foods; go shopping in any French Supermarket and Rosé wines will be the largest selection on offer. Sancerre Rosé, is made from Pinot Noir, pressed but with minimal time in contact with the grape skins, hence the light salmon colour. The resulting 'fruits of the forest' tastes - raspberry, blackcurrant, and black cherry -will partner a wide variety of foods from asparagus to medium-rare beef burgers. Delicious with bananas cooked in their skins over charcoal.
#5 Argentinian Malbec
Soft tannins, and rich, plummy fruit make this wine the perfect accompaniment to minted lamb and peppered steaks. But that would be too obvious, so for a real treat with a difference, try it with wholemeal rice, nut and mushroom stuffed peppers, with a good glug of olive oil. Delicious and with enough taste and body to punch through the flavours.
#6 Young Spanish Rioja Joven (unoaked)
Unoaked Rioja is a cherry fruit lover's delight. It has an intensity of bitter cherry that can liven up the driest of meats. It works beautifully with diced pork kebabs, using the Kadai 8 Skewer rack, for a perfect finish. Glaze the pork with honey, and rosemary, sit back and let your mouth unlock the sweet cherry/rosemary fruit infusion n the mouth.
#7 Nero d'Avola (Sicily)
Bacon rolls anyone? This robust red, with its bold flavours, racy tannins, and acidity, has a stylish, smooth body that packs a punch, but pair it with your morning bacon breakfast, prepared on a Kadai Paella pan, and it SHINES! Make it smoked bacon to complement the smokiness of the wine, and you will have made a food friend forever!