The Best Wines to Pair With Every Grilled Favorite This Summer

Grilling season is here, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to walk away from wine. A nice cold beer is great after mowing the lawn or cleaning out the garage, but when it comes to epic pairings with all of the grilled goodies, wine is actually your BFF.

From hot dogs (we’re going there!) to shrimp skewers, we have the ideal wines to sip with cookout favorites. Polish your tongs, fire up the barbie, and get ready for a tastier and more tasteful grilling season this summer.

Burgers are the MVPs of cookouts, appealing to a range of palates, and ideal for both casual and elevated presentations.
Wine: The quaffable equivalent of a burger is a glass of red wine from Rioja.
Why the pairing works: Rioja is a hugely popular Spanish wine made primarily with Tempranillo, and the flavors of this fruit-forward, oak-aged wine can stand up to the richness and smokiness of grilled beef, with or without cheese.

There are three main categories of Rioja, from entry-level to elevated, and different attributes to compliment the style of burger you’re making:

• Crianza is more fruit-forward and supple, ideal for casual get-togethers and simpler burgers.
• Reserve is more balanced, with warmer, spicier notes, ideal for cheeseburgers.
• Gran Reserva is the most elevated and complex, with notes of dried fruit and spice, perfect for sipping alongside bacon cheeseburgers.

Hot dogs and sausages bring a lot of salty, fatty, balanced sweet-spiced flavor to the party, and they need a bright, adaptable wine with substance to stand up to the tangy richness of the main event.

Wine: An off-dry Riesling from the Finger Lakes in New York or Alsace in France.

Why the Pairing Works: Hot dogs and sausages are salty, and instead of quashing the flavors in your glass which can happen with some wines, the bright acidity of a Riesling is amplified by their flavors. That same acidity cuts through some of the richness of the meat, wetting and cleaning your whistle between bites.

The range of herbs and spices in hot dogs and sausages pair beautifully with the aromatic, floral Rieslings from the Finger Lakes and Alsace. A touch of sweetness (that’s why you want the off-dry), means they can also balance the heat of the dog, and any sharp condiments you squeeze on top.

A classic grilled chicken wants a wine with crispness, minerality, and subtle complexity.

Wine: A Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley in France is a superb foil, going head to head to America’s favorite edible bird structurally, aromatically, and texturally.

Why the Pairing Works: Loire Sauvignon Blanc is lightning in a bottle.(Bonus points if you snag one from Sancerre or the increasingly popular Touraine).

Bright, crisp, and refreshing, this wine balances the juicy richness of grilled chicken without overpowering it. Its light citrus and herbal flavors pair naturally with the smoky char from the grill, making every bite taste a little fresher and more flavorful.

Classic BBQ ribs have a lot going on: there’s the decadent meat, the robust sauce, the smoke of the grill.

Wine: An equally exciting, zesty, and sweet-spicy sparring partner is California Zinfandel, especially from the Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley.

Why the Pairing Works: California Zinfandel and ribs were made for each other. Zinfandel is naturally ripe and jammy, without being “sweet,” just like your favorite rack of BBQ ribs.

This sunny grape also features notes of black pepper and baking spices, which parallels the smoky, charred bits the grill gifts to your ribs. Plus, the soft texture of Zin doesn’t go to war with the sauce or richness of the meat; instead, they meld and dance across your palate.

When you throw a big cut of steak on the grill, it’s time to bring out the big guns.

Wine: The wine that offers the personality, power, intensity, and pizzazz of a big cut of grilled ribeye or strip is Australian Shiraz, especially a bottle from the Barossa Valley.

Why the Pairing Works: Steak serves up bold, umami-rich flavors, which require a full-bodied, intensely fruity wine, with layers of spice and structure, to not be completely walloped by your assertive dinner.

Shiraz’s tannins bind with the fat in steak, making both taste smoother, and more integrated. The wine’s spicy, oaky flavors partner up and do a do-si-do with a grilled steak’s deliciously charred crust. Finally, Shiraz’s fruit-forward, ripe profile and bright acidity can stand up to the flavor of steak.

Grilled shrimp skewers are light, bright, and taste of the sea. They need an equally sun-kissed wine with a vibrant core.

Wine: Provence rosé is a pool party in a glass, and a great splash partner for fun and festive shrimp skewers.

Why the Pairing Works: There’s a reason #roséallday became a hashtag. The drink pink trend was born in seafood-loving Provence, because the naturally low in alcohol wine, which often tastes like crushed strawberries and watermelon, is commonly sipped alongside light bites, poolside, all summer long.

The light body and structure of the wine work well with the low-fat but luscious shrimp. The gently fruit-forward flavors also compliment, but will never overpower your grilled shrimp.

Whether you’re grilling up corn on the cob, hearty mushrooms, or a mixed plate of onions and peppers, you’re going to want a wine that matches this lighter grilled fare in intensity and structure.

Wine: Etna Bianco is a white wine from the slopes of Mount Etna in eastern Sicily.

Why the Pairing Works: This Mediterranean beauty is largely made from the grape Carricante, which is high in acidity and offers flinty undertones and sea-breeze minerality.

Bright and refreshing, this Sicilian white is a great match for grilled vegetables because it’s crisp enough to balance the smoky char and olive oil from the grill without overpowering the food. Its citrusy, saline flavors make vegetables like peppers, onions, mushrooms, and corn taste sweeter and more vibrant—almost like adding a squeeze of fresh lemon right before serving.

Instead of just working well enough, all of these wines and dishes were seemingly tailor made for each other, with each bite and sip elevating and complimenting the next.

Sunny days are finally here. Go get your grill on, and get ready to pop some great corks! Better yet, bring this list to your local wine shop and ask for these grill-friendly bottles—your summer cookouts will taste all the better for it.