What to pair with asado

Move over barbecue: today's 'live fire' cooking is all about nuance - and the kinds of wine best suited to such cooking may not be the ones you think...

- FIONA BECKETT

For as long as I've been writing about wine there's been an orthodoxy when it comes to pairing it with barbecue, as it's been known until recently. The assumption is that it involves punchy marinades and heavily charred food (usually meat), which call for bold, fruity reds.

Now that pretty much every self-respecting restaurant has its own open fire, perceptions have changed. Asado, as it's now more fashionably known, is all about subtlety: char yes, but smoke and even different woods.

Live fire has entered the world of fine dining.

'Food cooked on the barbecue is not always punchy and intense - it depends on the type of oak (different oaks from different regions give different flavours to the final product), as well as the elements of and the idea behind the dish,' says Alessio Ragusini, head sommelier at Michelin one-star Humo in London's Mayfair district (the restaurant's name even means smoke). 'Sometimes, you find yourself in front of a delicate piece of fish or meat that you wouldn't expect to taste that way just by looking at the fire pit.

Most of the time, the best pairings here at Humo are not made using powerful wines, but rather delicate, mineral ones.' Ollie Templeton, co-founder and head chef at Carousel in nearby Charlotte Street, agrees. 'The type of wood makes a difference. Heavy smoke from something like oak might call for bigger, more structured wines, while with lighter fruit woods you can lean more into fresher, brighter bottles. The fire becomes its own ingredient.'

Lighter touch