The Wine List: 3 Wines for Your Next Backyard Barbecue

By summer, people start talking about “barbecue wines,” which always puzzles me, as you can put pretty much anything on a barbecue. So, pairing wines to your barbecue meal is pretty ingredient dependant. Take these amazing ribs—spicy, a little saucy, fairly bold flavours. In times past, the rote choice would have been a fruit forward, low-tannin wine like zinfandel or Aussie shiraz, but, to be honest, I’ve never loved those particular unions of big food and big wine. A dancer can be more powerful than a linebacker in the right circumstance.

JL ChaveMon Coeur 2023 ($34)

If you want to go bigger, then how about this entry-level bottling of syrah and grenache from the legendary winemaker Jean-Louis Chave? (His Hermitage is available for $462, if you’d prefer.) It has ample dark fruit like a zin would have, but also some nice smoky and peppery notes that would play well with the chili crisp and the sweeter honey notes. It packs a quiet wallop at 15 percent, too, so be careful throwing back too many at the cookout.

READ MORE: Recipe: Chili Crisp Honey Ribs from Jannell Lo’s “My Best Friend Is Gluten-Free”

Domaine Baron de L’Ecluse Côte-de-Brouilly 2020 ($43)

So many people still associate Beaujolais with light and fruity, but bottles from one of the area’s 10 Cru-designated areas frequently have the acidity and heft to stand up to all comers. This bottle benefits from a bit of age—a bonus at this price—so it’s showing nice subtle earthiness and a licorice-tinged finish.

Pamplemousse Jus Leon Millot Pet Nat 2025 ($34)

Natural wine, often overflowing with personality, can be tricky to pair, but when you take a bottle like this quirky light red sparkler made with the hybrid grape Leon Millet, it has the acidity, juiciness and crunchy red-fruit power to cut through most grilled offerings—but it’s still friendly enough to sip as an aperitif.