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Wine, Barbeque and
Liberty - The All-American Partnership
Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of
Independence and one of the most complex and fascinating men this nation has
produced, introduced the great wines of Europe to this part of the New World.
It’s hard to imagine a celebration at Monticello where the gifted host Mr.
Jefferson would be serving barbeque with anything but fine wines from his
acclaimed Monticello cellar.
For good reason, wine in
America, like freedom and democracy, begins with Jefferson. What we do with
Jefferson’s gifts is up to us. He just set the table and from most accounts, did
a remarkably fine job of it.
The unofficial barbeque
season begins on Memorial Day running full throttle through the fall football
season where it is blended into another American tradition, tailgating. The
choice of beverages is fundamental to overall enjoyment and for those stuck in a
beer or sweet tea rut (even worse-sodas and sports drinks), there’s hope and
it’s in a pretty bottle with a nice label.
Barbeque is
national and even international. The mid-summer “I Love Barbecue Festival” in
Lake Placid, New York featured The Best of British Barbeque Team,
headquartered in lovely Newcastle, England, hometown of rock star Sting. I met
these lads, Mathew Shropshall, Ben Bartlett, and Viv Harvey, at last year’s
Jack Daniel’s International Barbeque Championship regarded as
the Barbeque Olympics.
Thoughts About Pairing Wine:
Pairing wine with barbeque
can be tricky. Smoke has to be addressed. Oaked wines don't pair well with
heavily smoked meat and fowl. So stay with something somewhat fruity like a
Zinfandel, Chianti, or the ubiquitous Beaujolais. For whites, think about a
nice Gewurztraminer or a New World Riesling. Barbeque is a hot weather ritual
and there's no reason that you should not serve a red just slightly cool, near
68 degrees, but still warm enough to have a bouquet yet cool on the palate.
Beaujolais is a popular cafe
wine in France. The higher end ones are perfect for any style of barbeque. Light
and fruity, Beaujolais loves to be chilled and here are 10 different Beaujolais
Crus to pair with any barbeque:
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For openers, select
Juliénas,
the one named after the world’s first great grillers who, according to
wine pioneer and French-trained chef Jim Sanders was none other than Julius
Caesar. Sanders, who hosted barbeques like no other I’ve attended, was
responsible for bringing fine French wines to the Deep South and introducing
them to a vast number of consumers including a man who would become
President, Jimmy Carter.
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Childress Vineyards’
Fine Swine Wine is like sweet tea with a kick, a rare but popular “cult”
wine made to pair with Lexington, North Carolina-style pork barbecue, the
city where the winery is located. They make 500 cases released at the
barbecue festival in Lexington and it always sells in hours. Grilled seafood
would be terrific match with their new white wine, a blend of Chardonnay,
Viognier and Pinot Gris.
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Eoin Connors, a native of Ireland, is a
member of the Court of Master Sommeliers who garnered the Best Young
Sommelier in the Caribbean/Atlantic Island region from the Chaine de
Rotisseurs. He advises “ think pink.
Barbecued fare is smoky, smothered in rich sauces and loaded with spices, so
try a wine that is full of lush fruit to stand up to the challenge. Rose
should be served chilled. They are affordable, versatile and rich in fruit
flavors, with no tannins. Sparkling Rose, especially from Spain made from
Grenache and Mourvedre, has brilliant, up-front currant, cherry fruit and
finishes with a dry, crisp, heady flavor, which play off spice and tanginess.”
While Everything is Barbequing or Cooking:
The barbeque ceremony
requires some wine while the spareribs and Brunswick Stew is cooking. Steve
Gibson introduced me a regional wine with French ancestry at his Habersham
Winery (in the lovely Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia), a 2008 Creekstone
Viognier. It’s crisp and clean flavors have a tad of grapefruit, apricot and
melon and a glass is pretty tasty with some lime marinated, bacon-wrapped
grilled wild Key West shrimp.
Before the barbeque feast
begins, pour everyone a glass of Champagne or sparking wine and toast in
gratitude to the distinguished gentleman from Monticello who literally invented
America and had the vision to introduce the country to the glory of the grape.
Thank you, Thomas Jefferson.
 Jim
Sanders Georgia Brunswick Stew
1 (4-pound) baking
chicken, cut into pieces
Water or chicken broth/stock
4 pounds ground pork
2 cups chopped
onions, divided
2 cloves
garlic, finely chopped and divided
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoons cayenne pepper
Kosher
salt
and black
pepper
36 ounces tomato juice
4 ounce tomato catsup
3 cups fresh or frozen
corn kernels
1 teaspoon
Tabasco sauce
or to taste
1 cup red
wine, preferably Rhone style
In a large pot over medium
heat, simmer the chicken pieces in the water or chicken broth until very tender;
remove from heat and let cool. Once cool, de-bone and chop the meat finely and
set aside.
Meanwhile, in a large heavy
pot or
Dutch Oven over medium heat, cook the ground pork until 1/2 done. Add 1
cup chopped onions, garlic, chili powder, thyme, cayenne pepper and a generous
sprinkling of kosher salt and black pepper. Continue to cook until the meat is
well browned, stirring every few minutes to break up any lumps. Add the finely
chopped chicken and stir to combine.
Add the tomato juice, catsup,
corn kernels, Tabasco Sauce, and red wine; let simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Add the
remaining 1 cup chopped onions and remaining chopped garlic; let simmer for another
30 minutes. Taste for salt (adjust if needed). Remove off the
fat before serving.
WINES:
 Beaujolais
goes well with Brunswick stew. It does not fight the spices and it has a lot of
refreshment value. Otherwise, fairly heavy red wines like Cotes du Rhone
complement the spice and flavors nicely as do several Italian reds like Chianti,
Bardolino and Montepulciano.
NOTE: Jim Sanders taught
thousands over decades in his wine classes in Atlanta. Although a product of the
Deep South, Jim was more French than anything. After World War II, where he was
wounded five times in the Pacific campaigns, he went to France, bicycled the
countryside and found his passion in wine and food. He learned to cook in Lyon
and Paris and met Armand Cottin, president of Labourie-Roi and through this
brotherly friendship, developed his own cuvee of 179 Burgundies garnering
numerous awards. Each day, in the rear of his retail wine shop in Atlanta,
Sanders served most anyone who came in wonderful dishes he prepared along with
countless bottles of perfectly paired wines. There was no charge.
On the eve of his death in
1999, Jim Sanders entrusted me with his wine notes, lectures, stories, and
recipes. I found one typed story about an evening long ago when Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. stopped by and enjoyed a bottle of Burgundy and some good
conversation.
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 Doc Lawrence is a veteran food and
wine journalist based in Atlanta and Fort Lauderdale. Doc Lawrence
writes and lectures regularly about subjects in which he is a recognized
and acknowledged expert - wine and food, theater, travel and cultural
tourism, visual art and music. His works have
earned praise from many editors and publishers. Check out Living Better in Today's South
by Doc Lawrence.
DOC LAWRENCE PRODUCTIONS
Atlanta and Miami/Fort Lauderdale
5201 Skyline Drive
Stone Mountain GA 30083
(404) 210.7882
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