Wine Pairings for the Pork Shoulder

[James Dawson]

were any wines paired with the shoulder? If not, does anyone have any wines they have consumed with BBQ that paired well, that they would like to share?

[Todd Graverson]

While we recognize that a wine pairing should have occurred, the 12+ beers we consumed that day led us to abstain from having wine. However, after tasting the meat, there are a couple of qualities that I'd look for. The first being something that can handle the smoke. While I hate the grape, a Petite Sirah would be big enough. The other wine which I'm a huge fan of is the Sutton Cellars 2004 carignane trimble vineyard. While carignane hasn't always had a great reputation, I think when done well it is really a nice varietal.

[James Dawson]

although I have never had it with BBQ, my first thought was a Zin. As you stated, you need something to handle the smoke, which it definitely could, plus it might bring a little spice to match that in the BBQ sauce.

The carignane call is interesting.

[Todd Graverson]

The tricky thing about pairing with BBQ is that there are so many different components. You have the smoke, but also the sauce and the underlying spice rub that serves as a background of flavors. The sauce brings a sweetness and a tomato quality to the party whereas the dry rub brings more a spice/sugar component.

The Zin might be a good try. We just picked up a few bottles of the 2006 Dark Horse Treborce Vineyard Zinfandel which I am excited to try as well.