BBQ Wine Bangers Under £10!

My latest picks for The Sun...

This weekend is going to be HAWT so many of us will be firing up the barbecue. If you’re after a few, great value wine suggestions, here’s what to grab with your next supermarket shop:

Beef or Lamb Burgers

Toro Loco Superior red, £5.29 Aldi

Whether it’s beef or lamb burgers on the menu, this bargain bottle of booze will have you covered. Still extraordinary value for proper wine, Aldi’s iconic Toro Loco is a highly gluggable, strawberry and herb-scented drop with enough grip to take on the meaty protein but light enough to chill too. It can even handle those cheeky sides, from chips to garlic bread and even coleslaw. Perfect for big gatherings.

Pork Sausages

Ramon Bilbao Rosado, £8.75 Coop in store

This super, Spanish sipper has had a rather gorgeous and highly instagrammable makeover for the 2024 vintage - and what’s inside the bottle is just as pretty. Think easy-going strawberries and cream with a refreshing crispness thanks to those famously high altitude vineyards. This’ll be perfect with your pork sausages but will cover most barbecue bases, including halloumi and chicken. It’s excellent value too.

Halloumi

Sainsbury's Sicilia Doc Grillo, Taste the Difference, £9 Sainsbury’s

Grillo is one of Sicily’s own grape varieties and it makes wines that taste of pure sunshine. This one’s a great example with its crowd pleasing notes of orange blossom, peach and pineapple. Its refreshing fruitiness will balance out the salt of the cheese of halloumi perfectly as well as pairing well with creamy or starchy sides like pasta or potato salad. It’ll love a buttery corn on the cob too! A great all rounder white vino that’s just a bit different.

Veggie Kebabs & Burgers

Unearthed Austrian Gemischter Satz, £8.99 Aldi

Veg often needs just the right food pairing or it throws things off balance. Sauvignon Blanc is often a go-to but a much more interesting option is this awesome Austrian blend. Part of Aldi’s Unearthed range championing lesser known styles ‘Gemischter Satz’ translates as Field Blend. There’s a bit of everything in this flavour-wise, from subtle tropical fruit notes to citrus and a cool, mineral freshness. A great all rounder with any veggie kebabs and nut burgers too.

Chicken Wings & Drumsticks

Wakefield Pinot Grigio, £10 Tesco

Not all Pinot Grigio is created equal and this Aussie version feels a world away from the cheap Italians that often don’t taste of much. Hailing from the cooler Clare Valley in South Australia, this wonderful white offers the clean, thirst-slaking purity that Pinot Grigio grape is famous for but with more character in the form of freshly squeezed lemon, subtle white blossom and a twist of creamy almond. More pricey than some but worth it and a dream with grilled chicken.

Sticky Ribs

Castellore Primitivo Puglia IGT, £6.49 Aldi

If ribs are on the menu and you’re serving them with a sweet, sticky sauce you’ll need a red that packs a punch in the ripe fruit department with some similar, plummy spice notes. Enter Primitivo from Puglia. This simple, yet sultry Italian is hard to ignore with its full-on and full-bodied, chocolate dipped raisin style. The great news is that it's often seriously affordable too - and this Aldi version is becoming a cult classic.

Baked Potato

Macon-Villages Reserve Chardonnay, £9.82 Asda (was £10.74)

Who doesn't love a barbecued baked potato with lashings of butter in the sunshine? In most cases, a decent, fruity white with crisp acidity like this Chardonnay will suit, especially if you’re talking toppings like sour cream, cheese or even salmon and chicken. The ripe melon and peach flavours stand up to the richness and the acidity cuts through, cleansing the palate. White Burgundy with its subtle oak is perfect here and this little Macon has just had a price rollback. Go find it!

Steak

Deluxe Argentinian Malbec Uco Valley Lidl £6.29

If there’s one thing that Lidl does brilliantly in the wine department, it's great value Malbec. This ‘deluxe’ edition hails from the more premium, cooler Uco Valley, which means more concentrated flavours of ripe blueberry and chocolate spice. Steak needs a bold red and this one really delivers in fruit, flavour and texture. It’ll cover you for your burgers as well and the slight smokiness will sing with the grill. For the price, it’s hard to beat too, so stock up for big gatherings.

Happy weekend!

Helena