More Options For Red Wine With Steak
Id urge people to look beyond the traditional matches of Malbec or Cabernet Sauvignon with steak, Peter Richards MW told in 2018.
How about a nice lively Cabernet Franc? Or may even a Carignan, Cinsault or cool-climate Syrah? Even a full-bodied but elegant rosé can work well on a warm day, said Richards, who is DWWA regional chair for Chile and chairman of Decanter Retailer Awards.
He said he enjoyed red wines that have body and texture but that could also refresh the palate during a steak dinner. The risk with steak is to think big meaty flavours = big wine.
Experiment With Different Wines And Cuts
Who cares if you prefer a merlot over a cabernet with a certain cut of steak if it is what tastes best for you? Experiment with different cuts of meat, and you will eventually find that harmonious pairing of meat and wine that will stay with you forever.
If youre just getting started with wine pairing, then we say your best bet is to keep it simple with a fattier piece of meat and a red wine. From there, follow your taste buds to find the exact pairing that speaks to you.
Filet Mignon Wine Pairing
Although the filet mignon is regarded as one of the best cuts of steak you can sink your teeth into, it actually has some of the subtlest flavors of any cut. Thats why its important to choose a wine that wont overpower the filet mignon.
The most ideal pairing for a filet mignon is an Old World aged wine, like Pinot Noir or Port, which tend to be higher in acidity but have less alcohol content than a New World one. The result is a lighter taste that lends to the flavor of filet mignon without being so loud that you cant taste the beefy flavors of your steak.
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Why Red Wine And Beef
The key to a great steak and wine pairing is balancing flavors. The natural tannins in red wine aid in cutting through the natural richness and fat of a steak, mellowing even very dry wine. Red wine also has natural bitter notes. A good steak pairing will not negate this. Instead, when properly paired, the combination should increase the flavors and aroma of both items, ensuring a perfect synergy.
It is completely up to the preference of the person enjoying the steak, however great red wine pairs well with red meat because it gives you just enough of an acidic tang that is full-bodied, which is needed to balance out the bold and heavy flavors of the steak, said Haxhiaj.
Besides beef, wine is also great with other red meats like lamb, pork, and veal. Prime, high-quality beef will be stronger in taste than these three animal proteins, making the wine pairings different. For these meats, Haxhiaj recommends the David Bruce Russian River Valley, the Barbaresco Pio Cesare, and a Ruffino Chianti.
Frequently Asked Questions About Steak Wine Pairing
Everyone wants to impress guests at their dinner party, but making this happen is easier said than done. Preparing a delicious meal is only half the battle because you need drinks that take the recipe to its fullest potential.
We took a look at frequently asked questions about steak and wine pairing and compiled our answers below. Check them out now:
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Steak And Wine Are Meant To Be Togetherforever
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One of the most synergistic pairings in the food and beverage world is steak and wine. Each provides a balance to the other and each enhances the other, while still maintaining its individuality. Together they create a gastronomic pleasure, and a true symphony of flavors, textures, and aromas. The cuts of steaks are many and so are the techniques of cooking them. There are many fabulous wines waiting to be discovered and tasted for your next elegant steak dinner.
Here, we present a few choices from around the world to get you started on the best wines with steak.
Filet mignon is an extremely lean cut of meat and it is all about the tenderness. With its buttery, melt-in-the-mouth texture, it needs a wine that does not overpower. The Antinori Badia Chianti Classico is a wine with flavors that are deeply layered. The wine is concentrated and has nice acidity. It is fruity without being jammy with well-integrated tannins. It invites the senses with the aromas of smoked meat, chocolate, and ripe fruit. The dark fruit on the palate and lower alcohol content in the wine elevate the meats texture. A liberal salt and fresh pepper seasoning on the steak brings out the slight oak and spices in the wine.
Stoller Family Estate 2014 Dundee Hills Pinot Noir
Type: Pinot NoirOrigin: Willamette Valley, Oregon, USAPrice: $30
As a LEED Gold certified winery with sustainable vineyards, Stoller is as resource efficient an operation as youll find in the Pacific Northwest. The savory 2014 Dundee Hills Pinot Noir is very approachable, with notes of mistletoe, exotic spices and Bing cherry. Its classic Willamette Valley pinot at an excellent price point.
Suggested Cut: The wine exudes chocolate and sea salt flavor that meshes well with Delmonico-style ribeye.
> For more information, visit the Stoller Family Estate official website.
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Merlot & Grilled New York Strip Steak Pairing
Merlot, on its own, will often be velvety, plush and medium-bodied with notes of dark cherry dipped in dark chocolate. Of course, Merlot has many styles which are dependent on the winemaker, and where it was grown, however, medium-bodied tends to be the crowd-favourite, and thus its what youll often find.
Soft, velvety and juicy, Merlot matches the rich and tender weight of your NY Strip Steak. The dark chocolate flavours of the wine teases out the charred flavours of your grilled steak, while the cherry and plum notes give you plenty of refreshment in between bites.
Hidden between the layers, youll also find notes of cedar, herbs, licorice, nuts, tar and tobacco which are delicious and enticing when matched with the juicy flavours of your steak.
I love Merlot from around the world, but when I sit down to a NY Strip Steak, I dont like to fool around, so I often stick to California for my Merlot. Notable producers of Merlot from this region include Duckhorn, Cakebread Cellars, Blackstone, Beringer, Stags Leap, Sterling, Wente, Shafer, Matanzas Creek and Silverado.
What Wine Goes With Steak
When considering what wine goes with steak, the simple wisdom of red wine with red meat certainly works, but a little more attention to detail will ensure you pair the best wine with steak.
Remember to consider the entire dish, not just the meat, when choosing the best red wine to pair with steak. A steaks cut, seasoning and degree of doneness can change its pairing parameters. Here are a few things to consider when choosing the best wine to pair with steak:
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Fattiness: Consider the cut when choosing the best red wine with steak. Fattier cuts pair better with full-bodied wines. High acidity is also nice to pair with a fatty cut of steak, as it helps counterbalance the richer, savory flavors. The leaner your steak, the lighter your wine selection should be.
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Seasoning: The best wine with steak that’s only been seasoned with salt and pepper can vary. Steaks flavored with sweet ingredients should be accompanied by a drier wine. Conversely, heavily seasoned or spiced steaks should be paired with a more light, sweet and fruity wine.
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Degree of doneness: A rare steak will lessen the sensation of tannins in any accompanying wine. For instance, it will make a young cabernet sauvignon or malbec taste more mellow. On the other hand, a well-done steak has enhanced bitter notes, so youll want more ripeness and sweetness when choosing the best wine with steak.
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Why Steak And Argentine Red Wine Make The Perfect Flavour Pairing
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Strawberries dipped in milky chocolate or soothing cinammon on hot apple slices – some food pairings make your mouth water just thinking of them.
But when it comes to matches made in heaven, it is hard to go past red wine and a juicy steak.
What makes this pairing so deliciously indulgent? Aside from tickling your taste buds just right, the answer, like most things, traces back to science.
The inner-makings of both red wine and steak are a match made in culinary heaven. Where the wine is concerned, it all comes down to tannins. Tannins are naturally-occurring compounds found in the skin, stem and seeds of grapes. The compounds are released when these parts of the grape get to know each other by soaking in the grape juice after being pressed.
Another source of a wines tannins comes from the barrel its kept in, which it absorbs during the aging process. It may seem like nothing more than a storage method, but the barrel can also contribute to the overall flavour of a wine too.
An easy way to work out how strong the tannins are in a wine is by noting if it gives your mouth a particularly dry sensation after drinking it. The drier the taste, the stronger the tannin. Its strength correlates to how long the soaking process was after pressing. The longer the soaking, the stronger the tannin. Hence, red wine tends to have much stronger tannins than white as the grape skins are left to produce a darker colour the longer they soak.
Always drink responsibly.
White Wine With Steak
Why not ignore the raised eyebrows and forget the long-established mantra that a steak dinner is no place for white wine?
Discovery is, after all, one of the most exciting things about the wine world. In an article from our archive, Matthieu Longuère MS, of Le Cordon Bleu London, talks about possibilities for pairing white wine with steak and other red meat.
Options range from a mature white Rioja to thinking about how to subtly adapt the meal to suit other styles, such as Pinot Grigio, he wrote.
This article was first published in 2018 by Ellie Douglas and has been updated by Chris Mercer in May 2021.
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What Wine Pairs Best With New York Strip Steak
Many people have their first experience with steak through a New York Strip as it is a very versatile cut packed with that rich beef flavor and the sense of tenderness that is commonly associated with steak.
The cut comes from the short loin of a cow and lends itself well to having some added flavor that would otherwise ruin other cuts of steak.
If you ask most wine and steak enthusiasts, they will say that the right Cabernet Sauvignon will make a New York Strip really come to life. This wine pairing almost seems made for the strip as it provides a complement to the fat and rich flavors of the meat itself.
With many people adding some fun sauces and flavors to their strips, you will want to find a wine that helps to balance the new additions in a way that enhanced the entire dining experience.
California Cabernet Sauvignon & Ny Strip Steak Pairing
Cabernet Sauvignon is loaded with grippy tannin that cuts through the fatty marbling of a delicious NY Strip Steak. The tannin also breaks down the steaks proteins, which makes the steak taste even more delicious. As the tannin of the wine merges with the steak, the wine also becomes smoother, and the complex notes of coffee, cedar, cinnamon, earth, eucalyptus, herbs, leather, minerals, pencil shavings and tobacco smoke are unleashed upon your tongue. These complex notes do not dominate but rather tease and flirt with your tongue, making for a memorable dining experience.
With Cabernet Sauvignon, youll also find rich plum, cherry, and raspberry that will come across as refreshing. Meanwhile, the vanilla and dark chocolate notes of the wine mesh beautifully with the char marks on your NY Strip Steak.
For rare steaks, select a younger Cabernet Sauvignon, as this steak will be loaded with fat and flavour that might dominate a perfectly aged Cabernet Sauvignon in its prime. For NY Strip Steaks cooked medium and up, now is a good time to pull out that Cabernet Sauvignon youve been sitting on for years or decades.
Cabernet Sauvignon from any country will pair up nicely with NY Strip Steak, but for the crème de la crème, California is what Ill reach for. Beringer, Dry Creek, Flora Springs, Harlan Estate, Hidden Ridge, Robert Mondavi, Shafer, Silver Oak, Stags Leap, Sterling and Dominus are among my favourite wineries when it comes to enjoying wine with Steak.
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What Is The Best Wine To Pair With Steak
As a general rule, you should pair your steak with red wine. You need a wine that is bold enough to stand the fatty and meaty richness of the steak. But it shouldnt overpower the dish with too aggressive tannins.
Cabernet Sauvignon is a versatile option that matches most types of steak. But depending on your specific preparations, other wines might be even better matches. To learn the basic rules about pairing steak and wine and the best wine pairings for specific steaks, keep reading.
The Best Wine Pairing For Steak
Steak is the ideal foil for a good red but is there a best red wine for steak? You could simply say its the one you most enjoy but it also depends on the cut and the way you cook it.
If you’re trying to find the best wine pairing for a specific steak dish, there are a few things to bear in mind:
- The rarer a steak is the more it will lessen the sensation of tannin in any accompanying wine. So if you have a young or comparatively young cabernet sauvignon or malbec, for instance, a rare steak will make it taste more mellow
- The fattier a steak is the more robust a wine it needs. Rhône reds or other syrah or GSM blends are perfectly suited to ribeye steaks while a leaner fillet steak pairs better with a pinot noir.
- The more charred a steak is the more ripeness/sweetness you want in your wine. A Coonawarra or Napa Valley cabernet for example or a Stellenbosch cabernet sauvignon.
My 5 best wines for steak
That said, there are five wines I turn to again and again when I’m eating steak:
Malbec
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The Best Wine Pairings For Grilled Steak
Its no secret that you want to break out your big red wines with steak. When that steak is grilled, dont be afraid to serve wines that have seen some new oakthe smoky-sweet flavors of the barrels work well with the char on the meat.
Its no secret that you want to break out your big red wines with steak. When that steak is grilled, dont be afraid to serve wines that have seen some new oakthe smoky-sweet flavors of the barrels work well with the char on the meat.
California and Washington Cabernet Blends. Napa Valley Cabernets with grilled steak are a classic combo, and you cant go wrong with this pairing. For wines that are a little more interesting , look for Cabernet blends from less-known regions, like Californias Paso Robles and Washington States Walla Walla.
Bordeaux. If you prefer European-style wines, red Bordeauxwhich is made of a blend of Cabernet and Merlot, among other grapesare a good bet. These wines tend to have more acid and tannins than the California wines, which you might appreciate with a rich, buttery sauce. The somewhat savory flavors in Bordeaux can also be great with an herb-laden condiment. For affordable Bordeaux that are dominated by Cabernet, look for wines from appellations like Haut-Médoc or Graves.
The Best Italian Red Wines To Pair With A Great Steak
Ever wonder what to pair with a great steak other than Cabernet Sauvignon? Ive listed some of my favorites, and you might be surprised.
When it comes to pairing wine with a great steak most articles will go for the easy pairing Cabernet Sauvignon and theres a good reason for this .
But in reality there are many wines will work with great steak. And since Italy has hundreds of varietals to choose from we thought wed focus strictly on some of our favorite Italian red wines that we love with steak.
Fun facts: Italy is comprised of 20 regions, 590 indigenous grape varieties, 300+ DOC wines, 74 DOCG, with a 4,000-year history of grape cultivating! That means theres something for everyone, and with so much history behind the country, they certainly know what theyre doing. And to me, that means finding wines of very high quality that can pair with anything I want them to, including meat.
And with so much variety why only reach for an Italian red when youre eating pasta or pizza? Consider it for your next steak night and I promise you will be pleased!
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Best Red Wine For Steak
Most of the wines that will fit the description above are going to be red. Heres a simple mnemonic, red meat goes with red wine. And here are the top red picks:
Cabernet is the most popular wine for a reason. Cabernets have a relatively balanced flavor profile and tend to have the acid and bitterness to cut through even the meatiest of meats.
Cabernet Sauvignon is your get out of jail free card if youre trying to pair a wine with your steak. Its available everywhere and it comes in a variety of price levels so you can be as fancy as you like with your steak dinner. If you need a recommendation, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons are among the best in the world.
Zinfandel is a more specific choice and it shows youve got a plan going into this pairing. And thats because Zinfandel has moderate bitterness and acidity, and more fruity notes. But that doesnt make it a poor choice.
The bitterness in Zinfandel is just right to wash away some of the meaty flavors of a New York strip steak or ribeye without competing too hard for your attention. The dark fruit flavors are also an excellent complement for a medium done steak without excessive fat content. Zinfandels are primarily made in California, and a Cali Zin is exactly what we recommend.
The one caveat about Malbec is that it may be too bold and full-bodied for some steaks. While there are great Malbecs to be found from California and France, Argentine Malbecs are typically regarded as the best.