Steak and Wine Pairings

Steak.  Gorgeous, succulent, tender, medium-rare, broiled, grilled marinated, pan-seared.  When the craving comes for a perfectly prepared slab of meaty glory everyone knows to go for red wine.  This is one of the times breaking the red with red and white with white rule is definitely not suggested.

There are just a few tips in selecting the right red wines and they relate solely to what is added to the steak.  Beef calls for the fullest of red wines and can stand up to even the most tannic and high alcohol content wines that are produced.  Which is especially applicable with many of the Cabernets and Zinfandels of recent California vintages—they are sometimes even reaching 17.5%--not a level for the novice red wine drinker.

When you are grilling or pan roasting red meat at home or have chosen a classic Porterhouse steak in a steakhouse for dinner then you absolutely can not go wrong with Cabernets, Zinfandels, SuperTuscans and Bordeaux, especially left bank Bordeaux.  Any of these will be a fantastic complement to your entrée as you carve into your steak.

Certain red meat preparations work better with slightly different wines.  A Filet Rossini, layered with foie gras and truffles will be best suited with a Cotes du Rhone.  These wines also work well with steaks that are served slathered in sautéed mushrooms because they play off the earthy qualities in the foie gras, truffles and mushrooms.  If you are going with a steak tartare for an appetizer then choosing either a Pinot Noir or a Burgundy will set off the flavor ideally.  Because the meat is uncooked it has not gone through the Maillard reaction which creates the distinct flavor of cooked meats so the softer wines work better.  This also applies to steak sashimi and works well with especially rare Kobe beef preparations.

In the summer months or when you are aiming for a low guilt version of a steak dish, but you still want the primal satisfaction that red meat gives, layering a salad with thin, seared slices of steak will accomplish that.  With the lighter preparation style and the balance of vegetables throughout the dish staying with the medium body red wines works best.  Choosing a Merlot or a right bank Bordeaux, Pinot Noir or Burgundy or Chianti Classico will not only work well with the dish but also allow you to feel like you are indulging and behaving at the same time.

If you are in a restaurant and not everyone is ordering steak, but are perhaps ordering pork dishes and salmon dishes a great choice for bridging the variety of entrees and still complementing the flavors is a Pinot Noir or Burgundy.  Even for the most dedicated oenophile a full bottle each of your own perfectly paired wine could prove to be overkill.

As a final hint, if you are preparing steaks at home and are making either a sauce or a marinade for the meat be sure to use a wine that is still of drinking quality.  You certainly do not need to use an aged Burgundy in a marinade, but if you would not pour a glass of the wine to drink for yourself then do not pour it over your steak.  Your taste buds will thank you later.

Click here to find wines that go with steak on Vinolist - The Wine Database.