Photograph: Jason Lowe

Our offices have been simmering in sultry heat all week, and – although the forecast looks as though it might not be playing ball this weekend – we’ve been planning which reds to bring out to accompany our al fresco fare. There’s one region, photographed for our Summer 2014 Brochure, above, which is arguably the spiritual home of the robust red. For a chance to win a bottle that is incredibly expressive of this particular terroir, tell us which region is pictured by emailing competitions@bbr.com before 5pm on 11 July. T&Cs apply.

In the meantime, for those of you firing up the barbecue regardless of what Michael Fish’s successors have to say, Berry Bros. & Rudd’s king of the grill, Matthew Tipping from the Fine Wine Team, shares his advice:

“‘Barbecue wine’ is practically an official classification in the Berry Bros. & Rudd office. It effectively means a wine with guts to it – not necessarily huge and ripe, but something that is focused and full bodied. Equally, it must be value for money: you don’t want to be drinking rare, aged wines with a barbecue – youthful exuberance is much better.”

On your ‘must-have’ list: Scotch Bonnet chilies are essential for marinades – although you need the sweet/sour/hot combo, so I would add Demerara sugar and lime juice (or vinegar) too.

Try indirect cooking and smoking to get better results: move the coals to the edge, add wood chips oak (cherry or apple are classic), put meat in the middle and put the lid on.

Use a starter chimney to light your BBQ, it is much quicker and the coals will heat evenly.

For more on our Summer 2014 collection, go to bbr.com.