Tried and true recipes for your grill....

Now that summer is just around the corner we want to share some of our favorite gems for the grill. Here's a recipe from our label artist, Sean Colgin. Sean is a legendary cook. This is his favorite party treat.

Grilled Tri-Tip Sandwich with Aioli

• 1 trimmed tri-tip 1 ½ - 2 pounds
• 1 large ciabatta or other rustic flat bread
• ¼ cup olive oil plus extra ½ cup mayonnaise
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bunch arugula, rinsed and dried
• Sea salt or kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Brush tri-tip with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Heat grill to medium-high. Cut ciabatta into six equal pieces and slice open. Brush inside of bread with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix the garlic, mayonnaise and ¼ cup olive oil to make the aioli. Salt and pepper to taste. Put tri-tip on heated grill and cook 20 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 135-140 degrees. Remove meat, cover with foil. While meat is resting grill the ciabatta slices until toasted. Slice the tri-top across the grain, about ½ inch thick. To make sandwiches slather top and bottom slices of bread with a tablespoon each of aioli, top with 2 or 3 slices of beef, then place a small handful of arugula over meat and close with top piece of bread. Serve with a glass of Bruce Patch Zinfandel. Serves 6.

Hagar's Herbed Pork Chops on the Grill

Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame Inductee Sammy Hagar is a rock and roller, restaurant owner, vintage car collector, gourmet chef, and tequila connoisseur with a passion for quality in everything he does. Sammy's accolades include his 11 year journey as singer and  songwriter for Van Halen, a highly successful solo career before and after his run with Van Halen, and an early stint with Montrose. Throughout his career, Sammy's combined record sales exceed 60 million! Sammy is founder of the Cabo Wabo Catina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and producer of one of the truely premium tequilas, Cabo Wabo. We're glad we were able to get him to contribute his Pork Chop recipe that goes so well with Zinfandel.

• 4 pork chops, bone in, about 1 inch thick
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/2 teaspoon rosemary powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground pepper, a few grinds of the mill
• 2 fat gloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon Cabo Wabo tequila
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vinegar, preferably balsamic

Finely mince the garlic or run through a press. Mix the sage, rosemary, salt and pepper. Add Cabo Wabo, olive oil and vinegar and combine to make a paste. Rub paste on both sides of pork chops and place on medium hot grill. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes per side. Don't overcook as pork gets tough with overcooking. Good with white beans and greens.

Underwood's Hoisin Baby-Back Ribs

Mark Miller is chef at Underwood which is West Sonoma County's handsdown favorite bar and a restaurant, so fine you'll need reservations for lunch as well as dinner. With flavors garnered from all over the world Mark's food never dissappoints. There's a Bruce Patch Wine poured by the glass too!

• 2 racks baby-back ribs

Dry Brine or rub

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 5 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 star anise pods

Rub ribs with spice mix, both sides. Put in baking dish, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Liquids

• 1 cup white wine
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup each, water, cider vinegar and soy sauce

Next day

Pour liquids over ribs, cover with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 4 hours. Remove from oven, let cool. Remove ribs from liquid and refrigerate ribs. Put liquids in a sauce pan with 1/4 cup Hoisin sauce and reduce to half until liquid thickens to a glaze. Put ribs on grill, baste with glaze, cut into individual ribs coat with more glaze. Grill until hot. Serves 6-8.

We would love to hear about your grilling experiences so we can share with all of our friends. Please write and send your favorite recipes and stories to us. Remember, BBQ always goes better with a bottle of Bruce Patch Wine. We now have eight selections to choose from! Also, wine club members get 20% off ALL wine ALL the time. Join now. Flat rate shipping always for all orders. Only one dollar ($1) for a case, mixed cases encouraged.

Happy Grilling from Bruce Patch and crew