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Memorial Day celebrations
Memorial Day is an American federal holiday to honor our military. Memorial Day celebrations include community parades, speeches by local politicians, municipal band concerts with patriotic music, and visits to cemeteries to place American flags on the graves of fallen American soldiers. This is an important holiday to recognize and thank our veterans and their families for their sacrifices for our country.
Worthy wines to toast our military
After attending a patriotic gathering, it’s time to take advantage of the warmer weather by heating up your grill. Memorial Day weekend kicks off Chicago’s summer barbeque season as the backyard grill kings dust off their grills and get ready for a nice cold barbecue. Family and friends gather at these backyard barbecues and toast our service men and women who protect our freedoms. Let’s find some great wine pairings that they toast with pride.
Holiday gatherings will include steaks, hamburgers or sausage directly on the grill or slow-cooked barbecue entrees made with wood smoke. Most traditional grill masters will tell you that true barbecue should include wood smoke and indirect heat. Serious barbecue people have a dedicated smoker. If you have a charcoal kettle grill, you can smoke your main dish by placing the embers on one side of the grill to create direct and indirect heat zones. To help control the cooking temperature, simply flip the grill grate over or away from the coals. If you have a gas grill and want to barbecue with smoke, you can improvise by adding a metal wood chip box (filled with soaked wood chips) placed over a lighted section of the grill and also turn off a grill zone, providing a cool area. to slowly cook your entree.
Memorial Day Wines
Since grilled or barbecued entrees can include seafood, poultry, pork, and beef, I have included a suggested wine pairing matrix for these possibilities. Suggestions include:
Light white fish: Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Grigio
Crab, Lobster, Shrimp, Scallops: Chardonnay, Pinot Gris
Bratwurst: Riesling-style Kabinett
Salmon: Pinot Noir
Pork Chops: Kabinett Style Riesling, Sangiovese
Pork Tenderloin: Zinfandel, Pinot Noir
BBQ Burgers and Ribs: Zinfandel
Steak and Lamb: Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah
When researching this column, a wine that is routinely enjoyed at Marine Corp Ball birthday parties is Jarhead Red. This winery was founded by two Marines who make a donation for each bottle purchased to the Marine Corp Scholarship Foundation, which offers educational assistance. to the families of the marines. This may offer another way to salute our troops while savoring a deep red with your grilled steak. Other wines with a military theme include Airfield Estates, a winery established on a former WWII airbase, Highflyer Wines with vineyards planted 1,100 feet in the Napa Valley, and Cosentino’s CigarZin wine that evokes the image of a Sergeant. cigar smoker. Regardless of how you observe Memorial Day, please toast our men, women, and their families in the military who sacrifice for us, so that we can enjoy our freedoms here at home.
Suggested Wine Picks for Memorial Day
Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc / Viognier, California (90 rating from R. Parker)
Hogue Cellars Riesling, Washington (Not Rated, Tested, and Recommended)
Airfield Estates Unoaked Chardonnay, Washington (87 rating by Wine Advocate)
Jarhead Red, California (not rated or tested)
Highflyer Grenache Blanc, California (ungraded – melon, citrus, mineral notes)
Cosentino CigarZin Zinfandel, California (not rated, tested and recommended)
Airfield Estates Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington (rated 90 by Wine Advocate)