Hi Everybody,

Well, it's barbecue season again in Taiwan and time to consider what to drink while you're busy manning the grill. It doesn't matter whether you're sitting in an up-market Japanese or Korean style BBQ restaurant, cooking up a storm on your balcony, having a huge company celebration or sitting on the roadside with your NT$59 disposable BBQ , these are some sure-fire winners.

1. First up, there's Beaujolais. This light, fruity wine, which can be lightly chilled, is a great partner for BBQs, especially as the weather is still pretty warm. Go for something with a village name as it will be better quality. Look for Moulin-a-vent, Brouilly or Morgon.

2. For some great value, a few Spanish Garnacha wines from the Navarro region have recently appeared in Taiwan. Garnacha (Grenache France) is generally medium-bodied with rich blackberry fruit and some black pepper, particularly on the nose (aroma). Bodegas Malumbres offers top value while Albet I Noya produces fantastic wines from the Penedes region, which are all organic as well.

3. Following the Garnacha/Grenache theme, I'd also recommend some wines from the Rhone valley in France. Cotes du Rhone wines are often a blend of several grape varieties, with Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre making up the largest parts of the better examples. Cotes du Rhone Villages will offer you better quality and top wines of the Southern Rhone such as the famous Chateauneuf-du-Pape (up to 13 different grape varieties of which Grenache is often the most important) and Gigondas (usually 100% Grenache) are bigger, fuller-bodied wines for those of you barbecuing up a beef or venison extravaganza.

4. If you have a weakness for barbecued seafood like I do, with the stronger, smokey grilled BBQ flavours, often a white wine that has seen a little oak ageing (ageing in oak barrels before bottling) can be the best match. Most Chardonnay wines, especially "New World" ones (NZ, Australia, USA, Chile, Argentina, South Africa) will offer some oak ageing, although most wines under NT$500 might only have a little. Personally, I'd look out for something from the Hunter Valley in Australia, or from the Macon region of Burgundy in France. Domaine Corsin is one of my favourites from the area, and Pouilly Fuisse from any producer should guarantee quality.
Okay, so there are four top picks. Good luck finding them and, remember, the focus this time is more on grape varieities than regions--Garnacha/Grenache, Gamay (all red) and Chardonnay (white).

Happy hunting and enjoy your BBQs!

Cheers,
Kris