Oleksyn: Big bold reds made to go with what you're grilling

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As the heat rises outside, I tend to turn up the temperature on the grill, too.

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I find outdoor grilling hard to beat. While I use the barbecue all year, the results just aren't the same in winter when you lose all your heat every time you lift the lid. Plus, you can't really sip some wine on the patio when it's -20 C (though I have attempted it.)

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But summer is the season of grilling. The best part is its uncomplicated cooking. Whether it's beef, lamb, chicken or pork, I pretty much let the protein speak for itself. Most of the meats we grill in Alberta call for a bold red wine. Protein is a perfect match for the tannins found in broad-shouldered red wine.

So, spark the grill and pop the cork (or remove the screw cap) on these tasty reds.

The Hester Creek Cabernet-Merlot is like that favourite pair of jeans that you just can't part with. It always seems to be a perfect fit.

From the challenging 2021 ‘heat dome’ vintage, winemaker Mark Hopley did a great job of keeping the sugars in check — creating a balanced, slightly off-dry wine with flavours of black cherry, blackcurrant, plum, vanilla and spice.

Made from grapes grown south of Oliver and Osoyoos, the blend is about 66 per cent cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon, with merlot filling in the rest.

Price: About $27. Check these stores as they have carried it in the past: Ace Liquor Discounter, Calgary Co-op Wines Spirits Beer, Highlander Wine & Spirits, Liquor Depot, Safeway Liquor, Sobeys Liquor, Willow Park Wines & Spirits and Wine and Beyond.

Drink: Now. Try it with hamburgers, sausage or grilled duck. Screw cap; 13.4 per cent alc./vol.

Argentina's oldest winery, founded in 1831, Bodega Colomé also features some of the world's most extreme vineyards. Perched high in the Calchaqui Valley, Colomé boasts some of the world's highest-elevation vineyards.

This malbec is a blend of grapes from four sites with elevations ranging from 1,700 metres (5,577 feet) to 3,111 metres (10,206 feet) above sea level. The cooler temperatures and extreme terroir that come with great height lead to a distinctive malbec.

Rather than overflowing with mocha and velvety dark fruits, the palate is savoury and lean, with lots of minerality and flavours of black cherry, pepper, wild raspberry, thyme and meat. Look for loads of structure and a long finish. A very memorable wine.

Price: About $35. It has been sold at Vine Styles, Willow Park Wines & Spirits, Wine and Beyond and Zyn the Wine Market.

Drink: In the next five years. Lambchops, T-bone steak or beef kabobs would be a delicious accompaniment. Cork; 14.9 per cent alc./vol.

Gramercy Cellars makes wines of intensity in Walla Walla, located in the hot and dry southeast region of Washington State. The winery's Lower East line of wines was created with a lower price point in mind. The wines make a great entry point into the Gramercy style.

The grapes for this blend, made of 82 per cent cabernet sauvignon, 10 per cent merlot, seven per cent cabernet franc and one per cent petit verdot, come from five vineyards in Walla Walla and the Columbia Valley's Horse Heaven Hills AVA.

Deep ruby in colour, it boasts intense aromas of black cherry, vanilla, violet, pepper and blackcurrant. The palate is plush and ripe, with plenty of dark fruits, vanilla and spice.

Price: About $47. Seek it out at Eastport Liquor Store, Highlander Wine and Spirits, Kensington Wine Market, Spirits West in Bragg Creek, The Cellar, Vine Arts and Willow Park Wines & Spirits.

Drink: In the next four years. Try it with a beef tenderloin, bison or elk. Cork; 14 per cent alc./vol.

When Chris Carmada started his Seattle-area winery in 1989 he named it after a nephew, Andrew, and Camarda's son Will. There's a charming photo on the Andrew Will website of a young Will in his father's "winery," which was essentially a three-metre-wide by an 18-metre-long hallway with a roof.

Now Will is the head winemaker at the family enterprise, which has built a strong reputation for producing high-quality wines from a few select single vineyards in the state. Will Camarda, who trained and worked as a geologist, joined his father in the wine business in 2013. While the winery was named after him, he says he was never pressured to follow in his father's footsteps. Instead, he came back to the winery, located on an island in Puget Sound, when he was ready.

This red wine shows how fabulous Washington State wine can be. It's a blend of merlot (57 per cent) and cabernet franc (43 per cent) from the Ciel du Cheval vineyard on Red Mountain, one of the Pacific Northwest's prized sites.

Full-bodied, with powerful yet plush tannins, this is a big wine made to last. Flavours of plum, blackcurrant, black cherry, violet, graphite, leather and black raspberry coat the mouth and carry through a long finish. It's a powerful yet refined wine that will benefit from time in the cellar.

Price: $95. It is available from Richmond Hill Wines.

Drink: In the next 10-12 years. If you’re opening it now, decant it for at least two hours to let it loosen up a bit. Bistecca alla Fiorentina, prime rib or smoked brisket would help tame the tannins. Cork; 14.5 per cent alc./vol.

Contact Darren Oleksyn at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter or Instagram. Looking for a specific wine? Because wine inventories are always in flux, it's a good idea to call a store to confirm they have it. A search on Liquorconnect.com can give you an idea of stores that have carried the wines.

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