July 25th, 2008

Bar-B-Que    “QUE BALL”         by Joe Barsin

 Every year late in March, I get that internal craving from the palate side of the brain that my stomach is overdue for its annual hearty helping of Carolina “QUE”, home made by neighbor Byron Renfro for our neighborhood annual picnic. It is truly a highlight of the year for me and I have been honored to serve as sous-chief to maestro Byron for the past 15 years.  I look forward to the  “cooking” that goes for over 7 hours midst story telling, jokes, neighbor renewals and sample “pulls”, with the resulting “party picnic” seemingly a secondary event.

We were able to schedule the Five Knolls Estates annual family picnic on Sunday May 4th with over 130 pounds of “Boston Butts” smoked and chopped, served with cole slaw, beans and other pot luck dishes. 

We all love beer with our barbeque but what about wine? After chatting with a colleague recently, I started wondering if there were any wines that could pair well with eastern style “BBQ”.  The Total Wine & More shop in Matthews was interested in supporting the challenge and set aside Saturday May 17 as the date when the staff could recommend at least 15 wines that they felt would complement the “QUE”.  The public and their evaluations would be welcomed; local barbeque restaurants would be invited to provide samples of their best; and I agreed to donate several pounds of the RENFRO finest.   

 The match of a wine with a food is an art but does have several basic fundamentals that have proven successful over time. In the old days white wines were for fish and white meat and red wines for meat and game. You also would do light before heavy, dry before sweet (with well known exceptions such as Sauternes with foie gras and Maderia with soups).  These old rules are unquestionably out of date, most wine drinkers realize that there are no “hard” rules about which foods go with which wines, but the color code can still be useful.  The background in the color code is that “reds” tend to contain more chewy tanins and meat is more chewy.  Today, as an initial approach, I would set up a test by pairing a high fat food (like “QUE”) with a high acid wine; a highly spiced salty food (like QUE) with a high alcohol and less dry, sweeter wine. The smoky, oak flavor, the paprika, pepper, and salt in the rub and the high vinegar/acid levels in the Eastern Carolina style “Que” does provide some starting points for potential matches.

 Suggested Initial Matches included: Southern Rhone wines ; all the GSM blends and at least one rose; a Bordeaux from the right bank; Barbera from the Italian Piedmont Alba region; a blend from the Ribera del Duero of Spain; California Zinfindel; an Alsace Gewürztraminer; Syrah from Australia; and one Malbec from Argentina as a starting point. In all 18 wines were sampled and rated for compatibility with the “QUE”.     

   On Saturday May 17, Total Wine sponsored the “QUE BALL” with five “Ques” donated, covering several different styles. These included the “Renfro” Eastern Chopped, “Outlaws” BBQ Shack (Matthews) pulled eastern, Steve Erickson’s chopped “Hickory” (some brown sugar combined with eastern), and “Reds” – chopped (some mustard combined with eastern).  The 5^th , a Texas Beef brisket, was so different in taste and flavor that after sampling it we eliminated it.  Our clients sampled and tested from 12 noon to 6 PM.

 The overall best combination by a large margin for the straight eastern style (Renfro/Outlaw) was the OZV Zinfandel Lodi –a medium bodied wine with loads of cherry flavors, hint of black pepper and a spicy lingering finish. ($15.99).  The Gewürztraminer was not available so a Alsace-style Riesling was substituted, but its floral and honey notes proved to be a poor match, even with great acid. The Dom Presidente Chateauneuf-du-Pape (03) with its blend of Syrah, Grenache (90%) and Mourvedre (rated 90 pts by WA with smoky herbs, roasted meats, black cherry and spice) was the closest runner up for top pair with the pure eastern Que. Third best was Chateau de Barbe Blanche St Emillion Bordeaux ($15.99).  Intense red and dark fruit intermingled with cedar and spice, smooth silky texture and finish in that Lussac/St Emillion predominate Merlot blend.  Terra Barossa 05 Shiraz ($12.99)  with intense fruit flavors of cherry, raspberries and nuances of tobacco and spice finishes out the top four.

 I had anticipated that the Erickson “Que” with its special mix of molasses/red vinegar base sauce would require a different wine but the top choice here was the Dom Presidente Chateauneuf–du–Pape (03). The number two pairing was a Tenuta Del Portale ($13.99) made from the Aglianico grape grown in volcanic soil ($13.99) in Basilicata Italy, which provided intense fruit with road tar, tobacco leaves and coffee notes.  So yes, there are wines that pair well with QUE.

Rutherglen’s “The Reunion” ($14.99) a 40% Mourvedre, 35% Shiraz, and 25% Grenache blend (GSM), with nose of spice, pepper and dark fruits wafting from the glass, paired very well with all the Ques except for the mustard/eastern combo. 

At the end of the six hour “QUE BALL”, after sampling many wines including Roses, Malbecs, Cairannes, Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs, Cabernets and Barberas we could not find a wine that could complement “REDs” partly mustard base “Que”. Perhaps, after all, some select “Ques” do go best with beer.

Certified Sommelier, Certified Specialist of Wine and Wine Associate @ Total Wine and More; Matthews NC

If you missed Joe's December Wine Article, please click here.

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