Summer BBQ's

"Wow, this is a posh BBQ" my flat mate exclaimed. But he didn't mean the small, foiled, disposable BBQ smouldering away in the corner of our garden or even the fantastic pork, fennel and chilli sausages and lamb burgers sourced from our local butcher. We had taken the opportunity, like many, to get outside and make the most of the summer. But I felt like celebrating the fact we could sit outside well into the night clad in only flip-flops, shorts and a shirt.

For the white we choose Marqués de Riscal's Limousin Reserva. A serious white wine in anyone's book made from the grape Verdejo. The oak the Verdejo has been aged in gives the wine more body and oomph. Hints of vanilla, honeysuckle and wild fennel are a refreshing accompaniment to those pork sausages and sits happily with the salads on the side. Lying on the grass, sipping the Limousin whilst the lamb burgers went on the BBQ was a summer moment I had been waiting for since 2006! Heavenly.

Decadent? Yes. But these opportunities are as scarce as recent Australian wins in Ashes series. And so onto the red. No wine conjures summer's glories more than the "King of the Tuscans", made in the beautiful hilltop town of Montalcino. Yep, I opened a 94 pointer (Robert Parker) Brunello di Montalcino from Il Poggione. Ripe, intense and full bodied with cherries, tobacco, smoke you can see how this was a fantastic match with our lamb burgers. The only this missing from my garden were the Cyprus trees.

There were no regrets opening great wines at a BBQ, it made the night one to remember. But if you are having a larger gathering most of us cannot serve these wines all night! Sauvignon will be a fantastic, all-round crowd pleaser. Chilled down, it's perfect with salad, asparagus or BBQ Haloumi. My choice would be the Marqués de Riscal Sauvignon from Rueda which is elegant, crisp and fresh. For a winning BBQ red look no further the BBQ kings/queens in Argentina where Malbec rules. The Cuarto Dominio, Tolentino Malbec has a full bodied, highly fragrant nose of black fruits, cherries and mocha allowing it to stand up to all the red meats you can throw at it. These two wines would keep your guests, and you, happy all night, even if the sausages get a little over done...