Wine with Leslie: Five red wines for barbecue season — plus the best beer and cider

Don’t be afraid to chill red wine and make sure to seek out a beer specialist, writes Leslie Williams

Red wines for barbecues should be capable of being served cold or at least cool.

Barbecue season in Ireland is always a little fraught with the threat of rain ever present. However, in our house we have found that putting up the inexpensive pop-up gazebo means that we don’t fret nearly so much about the odd shower interrupting the flow.

Red wines for barbecues should be capable of being served cold or at least cool — this has been my guiding principle for this piece. Even if the sun isn’t shining, you want wines that will be lively and fresh tasting and capable of coping with spice rubs and a heavy hand with the barbecue sauce.