More specific pairing of BBQ flavors with different varietals of wines can be categorized under smokey, sweet and spicy.

Smokey - If you are making something with with pork or bacon accents, a zinfandel of course works, or try a cool climate syrah (Santa Rita Hills, CA for example, or anything from Mendocino) Something like an Andrew Murray Syrah, or Old World Winery Syrah or Zinfandel are good choices in this category. Cold climate syrah has earthy, forest floor and dark fruit notes. Pair these with recipes containing Gayle's original BBQ sauce!

 

Sweet - Zinfandel is your all around buddy. A lot of Zinfandels are fruit forward, soft tannins, not sweet, but easy drinking, and are good with sweeter sauces, such as Gayle's Sweet 'N' Sassy! Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino supply amazing Zinfandels. Rosenblum wines and Bella Zinfandel are great choices.

Spicy - Something super spicy may demand a higher alcohol content to balance the spice - fight fire with fire! There are many GSM blends (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvevre) from the Rhone Valley, which produce very meaty wines. California central coast wineries, like Minassian-Young and Cass Wineries are excellent suppliers of these meaty wines. The new wave of Cal-Rhone wines from the central coast, Paso Robles and Santa Barbara, including McPryce Myers winery and Minassian-young offer wines with earthy, leather and tobacco notes... these go well with Gayle's Extra Sassy BBQ Sauce.