Weekend Wine with Blake Creedon

THIS week we’re heading into the great outdoors, corkscrew in hand, with a bit of inspiration for wines to accompany Michelle Darmody’s delicious barbecue recipes (see pages 26 and 27).

The four bottles here correspond to Michelle’s five recipes — with one bottle coping with two of them.

This isn’t me dismissively lumping the vegetarian option in as an afterthought — far from it.

Because with their lightness and their dusting of spice seared in on the grill, the veg skewers and the chicken really do have a comparable ‘weight’ of flavour.

I emphasise that most foods will go very happily indeed with many different wine styles.

For instance the spicy chicken or skewers would find a fair companion from almost any part of the wine shop.

But by picking that rosé bubbly, I’m suggesting the light spice would sit particularly well with a wine from the fresh end of the spectrum, plus a slight bit of sweetness.

If you want more information, I’ve put more detail about each of the wines here on www.blakecreedon.wordpress.com.

1 & 5. Spicy chicken and vegetable skewers, Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Rosé — reduced to €12.20 at selected SuperValu stores

A fine companion for light spicy barbecue delights.

2. Aromatic beef skewers, Escondite Perfecto 2009, M&S, €14.99

Tempranillo could be great here but the fragrance of this mencía chimes beautifully with the spice.

3. Burgers, Bordeaux Superieur, Aldi, €6.99

Fruity but firm cabernet and merlot make Bordeaux the go-to style for all sorts of rich beef dishes.

4. Trout parcels with sweet onions, Marqués de Cáceres Young White €9.99

Try a middleweight chardonnay or this refreshing lemony from Superquinn and Supervalu.