Skip to content

Top Navigation

Cooking Light Cooking Light
  • Recipes
  • Cooking 101
  • Eating Smart
  • Healthy Living
  • News

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Email Preferences

Manage Your Subscription

  • All Access Subscribers
  • Magazine Subscribers
  • Cooking Light Diet Subscribers
Login
Logout
SUBSCRIBE
Pin FB

Explore Cooking Light

Cooking Light Cooking Light
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 31-Day Healthy Meal Plan

      Our 31-day calendar of meals and tips shows you how to cook more and love it with fun, family-friendly meals that come together quickly and deliciously. Read More
    • Dinner Tonight: Quick and Healthy Menus in 45 Minutes (or Less)

      Hundreds of delicious recipes, paired with simple sides, that can be on your table in 45 minutes or less. Read More
    • Our Favorite Healthy Air Fryer Recipes

      Who ever said that chicken wings, doughnuts, and pizza couldn't be healthy? Read More
  • Recipes

    Recipes

    See All Recipes
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Drinks
    • Recipe Makeovers
    • Quick & Healthy
    • Diabetic
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegetarian
    • Cooking Light Live
  • Cooking 101

    Cooking 101

    See All Cooking 101
    • Essential Ingredients
    • Cooking Techniques
    • Meet the Chef
    • Cooking Resources
    • Budget Friendly
    • Smart Choices
  • Eating Smart
  • Healthy Living

    Healthy Living

    See All Healthy Living
    • Weight-Loss
    • Health
    • Fitness
    • Home
    • Travel
    • Nutrition 101
  • News

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Email Preferences

Manage Your Subscription

  • All Access Subscribers
  • Magazine Subscribers
  • Cooking Light Diet Subscribers
Login
Logout
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. entertaining
  3. Pairing Wine with Grilled Foods

Pairing Wine with Grilled Foods

By By: Gary Vaynerchuk October 23, 2012
Skip gallery slides
Pin
Credit: Photo: Randy Mayor
There’s nothing like the smoky infusion that the grill gives to our favorite meat, poultry, and fish. Match wisely to accentuate this flavor.
Start Slideshow

1 of 5

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Which wines go best with grilled foods?

Credit: Photo: Randy Mayor
Beer is the go-to backyard beverage when the barbecue gets fired up, but wine is a match for anything that bears grill marks. Oaky wines have flavors that mingle nicely with the smoky notes that grilling imparts, while fruity wines—with acidity to match—are delicious matched to the sweet caramelization of vegetables, fruits, and meats. A nice cold glass of sauvignon blanc glinting in the late-afternoon summer sun as chicken sizzles on the grill: Is there anything finer?

1 of 5

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 5

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Cedar-Plank Salmon

Credit: Photo: Randy Mayor
Cedar-Plank Salmon is rich in healthy fat, so it needs an equally rich wine. The fish oil coats your mouth, so it works like a charm with buttery chardonnay. Avoid over-oaked bottles.

VALUE: 

2 of 5

3 of 5

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Burgers

Credit: Photo: Randy Mayor
Burgers are not steak, so resist the temptation to reach for a colossal, in-your-face California cabernet or Left Bank Bordeaux that overwhelms or overcomplicates. Instead, a bright and juicy red complements the burger's beefiness, as well as any veggies that are likely part of the equation.

VALUE: Campos Reales Gladium Crianza 2006 ($11) Medium-bodied Spanish red wine with up-front raspberry

Vega Escal Priorat 2005 ($19) Smooth with a gentle spiciness of cedar, mineral, plum, and black cherry (pictured)

3 of 5

Advertisement

4 of 5

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Barbecued Chicken

Credit: Photo: Randy Mayor
Barbecued chicken takes on a nice char as it cooks on the grill—especially bone-in chicken, which takes longer to cook. Since that char leaves the palate feeling dry, reach for a light, crisp white to counterbalance.

VALUE: 

4 of 5

5 of 5

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Grilled Pork Chops

Credit: Photo: Randy Mayor
Grilled pork chops should be juicy, especially if they're brined before cooking. This meat can stand up to a red wine of some substance and tannin.

VALUE: 

5 of 5

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By By: Gary Vaynerchuk

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 5 Which wines go best with grilled foods?
    2 of 5 Cedar-Plank Salmon
    3 of 5 Burgers
    4 of 5 Barbecued Chicken
    5 of 5 Grilled Pork Chops

    Share & More

    Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message
    Cooking Light

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Customer Service this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise
    • Content Licensing
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    MeredithCooking Light is part of the Allrecipes Food Group. © Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Cooking Light may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright Cooking Light. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.cookinglight.com

    View image

    Pairing Wine with Grilled Foods
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.