Grillin’ with Wine BY RICCARDO TARABELSI
R
ecently I was at a friend’s house for a family barbecue. The kids were playing in the backyard (where my middle son almost crashed into a brick wall with a four-wheeler; different story for a different time,) the host was grilling up burgers and brats, and I was having a cold beer. As guests were arriving to this fun gathering,
I started noticing a pattern: people walking in were exchanging greetings with everyone, but when they arrived to where I was sitting, they all said the same thing to me, “You’re drinking beer?!” My response to everyone was the same, “C’mon, am I that much of a wine snob?!” I had already poured a glass of pinot
noir for my wife and a cabernet for a friend, but there was just something enticing about an ice-cold beer on a warm day to pair with a juicy burger. Truth be told, I did sneak a couple of sips out of my wife’s glass when she wasn’t looking, just to cleanse my palate from the beer. Maybe my friends were right about me. Just in
etc. for her | July 2020 43
