It was the perfect storm! I was invited to a BBQ sampling party by my friend Susan that was to include wine tasting and pairing.
Picking the wines to include for the blind duel proved to be difficult. First, the the menu for the event was top secret. I didn’t know what meats or even what style or sauces would be served. I decided to ask for help. I knew that I wanted at least one “Old Word” wine so I decided to consult with Nancy at LCA Wine. It helped that I was familiar with Nancy’s wine knowledge through my tastings during WSET classes. I explained to her what little I knew about the menu and that the wine of choice for most of the attendees would be Cabernet from Napa. We decided the best approach was to what we thought were better pairing options; a “Old World” Syrah and a “New World” Zinfandel.
Almost immediately upon my arrival to Susan’s Robert presented me with a glass of Cabernet. That was a bribe to get me to help with the preparations. Finally some of the secret information that had been held back was being revealed. The meats for the event had been shipped in by Rib Shack BBQ at Robert’s request for us to evaluate. The meats, which included ribs, brisket, and pork butt had been expertly pre-prepared so that only finishing at destination was required. Robert had the directions and provided guidance making things so easy that before I knew it the time for wine duel and tasting was here.
I too had done prep work so that all I needed to do was open and pour.
The wines were concealed, the food presented, so we started the tastings.
In the ideal setting for a Wine2Duel event we would have used two glasses so that we could do side by side comparison. Because of the amount of food and the limited table space we decided that a back to back with single glass would have to do. Almost immediately after pouring, the comments on wine A were being verbalized. I didn’t have to wait for the ballots to get a sense of the outcome but am very thankful that they were kind enough to fill them out. They stated that wine A was not something they typically drank but did seem to match well with the food. I heard several comments on the flowery yet unique earthy nose. Palate comments included talk about acid and noticeable tannins. In general they thought it went well with the food. Time to move to wine B. The conversation quickly focused on the taste. The general thought included how balanced it seemed: fruit forward followed by a nice earthy and smokey taste with a finish of smooth, soft tannins.
I think that, unfortunately, I had inadvertently stacked the deck because the unanimous winner was B.
Wine B – Zinfandel “New World”
While we continued to taste food and wine. I mentioned that Riesling was a wine that could go with BBQ, as well, in fact some consider it the perfect palate cleanser. WIth that Robert brought out a Dr Loosen
http://drloosen.com/wines/estate-rieslings/
Everyone that tried it was astonished just how well it functioned as a palate cleanser, and a great wine!
This is not all of the story. There were issues with corks before we got started. We had some VERY interesting (and good) warm up wines. You’ll have to stay tune for a follow up. But, I did want to leave you with the complete picture of the wines tried with Barbecue.