Who doesn’t love a long weekend? A day late, but I hope everyone had a wonderful Canada Day yesterday.
This is the 155th year that we celebrate Canada Day, which honors the anniversary of Confederation, when Canada became a country separate from the British Empire. It was known as Dominion Day until 1982, which is why my home province of Newfoundland had a beer called Dominion Ale. And it wouldn’t be from Newfoundland without a picture of a moose on the bottle.
But today we are here to talk about wine! Are you grilling this Canada Day? It was a beautiful day here yesterday in Halifax so I fired up the grill last night. Did some ribs which I’m going to finish this evening. My favorite wine to go with ribs? Regular readers know what a huge fan I am of Zinfandel with ribs. Whether it’s a 100% Zinfandel, or Zinfandel is part of the blend, I’m a fan.
Cline makes a beautiful smooth Zinfandel. Natalie Maclean, Canada’s most prolific wine writer, gave this wine 92 Points. From Contra Costa County close to the San Francisco Bay area, this rich wine has notes of plum and black pepper, which makes it perfect for anything on the grill.
Robert Mondavi said it best “Wine, Food & Art – incorporating these three things will enhance your life”. No wonder he was a legend.
Here’s my recipe for BBQ ribs.
- Take the membrane off the back of the ribs. It adds nothing to the ribs.
- I like to marinate my ribs. Brown Sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, liquid smoke, hot sauce, and some BBQ sauce.
- I also slow cook them first in a 275-degree oven for 2 – 3 hours.
- Then I finish them on the grill, adding more BBQ sauce. I like Bulls Eye Sweet & Sticky.
- They are fall off the bone delicious.
For my white wine drinking friends, a good hearty white wine goes great grilled food, like this one from Trinity Oaks.
With flavors of apple and pears, and delicately used oak, this is a great Chardonnay.
That’s it for me for today. Have a wonderful and safe long weekend.
Darlene
Wine-It’s Just My Opinion 