by Rob Pickard
BBQ opportunities on our beloved rain soaked island are few and far between, so if you’re going to do it, make every effort to do it properly! Doing it properly can of course be affected by many factors, from meat, fish and veg selection, salads and accompaniments, pre BBQ beers, and importantly, wine selection. However, what I discovered on a recent trip to Bordeaux is these variables are indeed important, and must be selected with care, but will come to very little unless you cook over the correct materials!
‘Materials’ however may be a bit of an ambiguous choice of words for something so important, and I guess the Bordelais would use nothing else for their al fresco cooking, the somewhat obvious choice to many from wine producing regions – Vines! I’m sure they would read this with surprise at my excitement surrounding the ‘Vine BBQ’, to them this BBQ taste sensation must be quite mundane. However for us, a pasty group of wine loving English, the ‘Vine BBQ’ was a revelation.
We were staying just outside the small town of Créon, set within the Entre-Deux-Mers region at a small English family run property, Chateau Bauduc. The owners, Gavin and Angela Quinney, have a fantastic old farmhouse set within the vineyard which is available to rent. A great place for a relaxing, wine based trip – thoroughly recommended. Chateau Bauduc produces a selection of superb wines; brilliant examples of how Bordeaux can produce a delicious everyday wine.
Check out Chateau Bauduc’s website for details on both their wines and the farmhouse.
Now, onto the BBQ. Gavin had given us a recommendation of a local butcher who’s Cote de Boeuf was apparently ‘as good as it gets’. With such a positive recommendation, we decided to do the BBQ right, and brought three stonking slabs of Bordeaux’s finest boeuf (I think the photo does the meat justice in showing its quality). Next step we assumed would be the coals – ‘don’t need them’ we were told, as we were presented with a basket of gnarly old Merlot vines for use as fire wood.
As we began our now Vine BBQ, it became obvious how perfect these vines were as fire wood, catching immediately, and creating some serious heat – perfect for our awaiting slabs of Cow! However the revelation was the taste these vines imparted on the meat, everybody was truly amazed at the unbelievable flavour. The meat was fantastic, but the vines had left a smokey flavour which had sweetness to it, not unlike a hickory smoked BBQ sauce, but in a subtle and unique way.
No expert on food, I have however tried my fair share of steaks, and these were by far the best I have ever tasted – with unanimous agreement from the whole group. This must be partly down to the quality meat, but the very subtle, sweet and smokey flavour from the Merlot vines, created the most unique taste, something everyone must try!
Washed down with two Bordeaux classics, Leoville Barton 2004 and Langoa Barton 2001 (affordable ones anyway!), and followed my many bottles of Chateau Bauduc Clos des Quinze 2005, this was indeed a BBQ done properly! Plus, not forgetting being surrounded by rows and rows of leafy vines, this had to be up there on food and wine experiences.
Whether the Vine BBQ can be recreated easily back in the UK is up for question. Depending on whether vineyards have been grubbing up old vines, summer trips to English wineries may prove successful, failing that an extra piece of luggage on the next trip to Europe will do it!! Either way, if possible, do make the effort to stock up on some old vines, believe me the unique taste it creates is something special!
After returning from France, I wondered whether it was the varietal of grape that may have given the vine that unique flavour. Would the varietals most commonly grown in the UK, such as Bacchus, Pinot Blanc, Reichensteiner, Silvaner, Dornfelder and Pinot Noir impart that same smokey sweetness, or was this the characteristic of the old Merlot vines?
Tags: Bordeaux, Chateau Bauduc, cooking over vines, food and wine, food and wine matching, Gavin Quinney, steak and wine