I’ve had some great exposure to both Zinfandel and barbecue this summer, and the results challenge both the traditional sommelier’s advice as well as what some of the Zin makers themselves recommend.

For one thing, a really good barbecue joint opened up in Napa city earlier this year, named BarBersQ, so us country folk in Napa who are mostly city folk on an extended vacation have been able to get a real taste of country ribs and Southern style slow-cooked pork and beef. I also spent several days in north Texas for my sister’s wedding, staying at a working horse ranch that’s also a B and B and eating beef brisket at two out of three meals. Thank God for cole slaw or it might have been an exclusively carnivorous stay.

I’ve sat through lectures by master sommeliers where they swore that crisp acidic wines are the best for spicy foods. This is not a good rule in my experience, and was definitely not working with spicy styles of barbecue that I sampled. What did work, was a very fruity, rich style of Zinfandel.

Another cliche that didn’t work was the sort of macho winemaker claim that the spiciest food is best with the biggest, most alcoholic and tannic Zin. Not for me, though. The really spicy Tex-Mex type of concoctions were best with the softest, freshest type of red wine or rose.

The idea that you drink like with like works to an extent. Milder foods match with milder wines, maybe. But if a wine reviewer or a friend describes a Zin as spicy, that doesn’t mean it’s going to taste good with five-alarm chili or ribs coated with high-voltage sauce. Spice in a wine doesn’t usually mean heat. It often refers to black pepper flavors or spice aromas like cinnamon and clove that often pop up in barrel-aged red wines.

Luckily, a good number of Zinfandels taste great sipped along with slow-cooked southern-style barbecue, ribs coated in all-American sweet-smoky-tomato based barbecue sauce, and marinated or spice-rubbed cuts of protein like grilled flank steak, pork tenderloin and teriyaki salmon.

Earlier this summer, after blind-tasting more than 70 Zins over a few days, I ordered takeout from BarBersQ. I had kept a selection of the leftover wines, and most paired well with the restaurant’s pulled pork sandwiches, tender chicken and spicy ribs, even with the assertive sauces — except with one especially fiery chili pepper sauce.

Am I alone on this? Any favorite pairings out there for barbecue and wine? I’m talking not just about grilled stuff, but about slow-cooked beef and pork, especially when it gets spicy.

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