The best wines for your barbecue this Bank Holiday weekend by The Vineyard at Stockcross sommelier Romain Bourger

As August bank holiday weekend arrives, there's time for another outing for your barbecue this summer.

The Vineyard at Stockcross sommelier Romain Bourger looks at the best wines for your barbecue this weekend.

With plenty of food options to choose from, whether meat or vegetable based, there are also many suitable wines to be enjoyed.

Barbecue is often synonymous with beer or rosé, but so many tipples work amazingly with grilled food and slow-cooked food.

More importantly, what will guide the pairing is what is used to cook said ingredients; spices, marinades, sweet and sour sauce flavours or anything you prefer for that matter.

Something I love with anything seafood cooked with lemon, parsley and garlic is a light En Rama Fino Sherry. En Rama is a term used for unfiltered Sherry and is the closest bottled style you get to tasting a Sherry wine out of a cask.

It’s fresh, zesty and has an incredibly round and soft mouth-feel. An amazing pairing indeed.

To help with your pairing, it works also to bear in mind what is influencing the cooking and match with a wine from that area; Mediterranean herbs perhaps? Maybe think about a Catalan or something from the Italian west coast.

Alternatively, perhaps a light red, served slightly chilled like a Sciaccarellu from Corsica, a white Carricante from Sicily’s Etna region or a dry and crisp Vermentino from Sardegna.

If you are using oriental spices, Lebanon offers amazing wines in all colours.

Turkey is also a country to look for as wines are made from local grapes such as Narice, a light, citrussy and floral white wine.

Kalecik Karasi produces a light, fruity red wine, Gamay-like in some way, whilst Öküzgözü makes fuller-bodied, more Cabernet Sauvignon-like wines.

If you decide to finish off your meal with a grilled dessert, like pineapple or mango, a go to for me is a lightly sweet, lightly-sparkling Moscato d’Asti from Piedmont, Italy. Usually about 5-5.5% ABV, it has a light, refreshing fizziness and a touch of sweetness which makes it the perfect wine to end the meal with.

The world of wine, such as the world of food, thankfully, offers a huge array of choices and combinations.

Don’t hesitate to ask for advice in your local wine shop. We are lucky to have plenty in the area and all would be more than happy to help.

But, most importantly, choose something you like.

Santé!