When you’re grilling cuts of beef like brisket, tenderloin, a juicy steak or ribs and using potent spices and flavors like classic Kansas City or Memphis-style barbecue sauce, cabernet sauvignon is a great choice to balance those intense flavors. For example, within The Federalist’s portfolio of wines celebrating America’s heritage, the Federalist Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon is a medium-weight red wine with a good grip from tannins, in wine speak —which means the flavor and body of the wine is strong enough to hold up to the bold, smoky and spicy flavors of your meat.

Writer-director Jason Reitman (“Juno,” “Up In the Air”) has proven himself an engaging talent with a flair for making movies that are more thought-provoking and off-center than those produced by his famous father, Ivan (“Ghostbusters,” “Stripes”). His latest, “Labor Day,” works both as an unconventional romance and a coming-of-age tale. The plot centers on Henry (Gattlin Griffith) who lives an uneasy life with his severely depressed mother, Adele (Kate Winslet). Henry’s existence is thrown into turmoil when a rough-looking man named Frank (Josh Brolin) approaches him at a department store and “insists” on a ride.