Wine That Goes With Steak

Pairing Meat And Wine

Choosing the perfect wine to complement your main dish can make the meal that much more enjoyable. Pairings of wine and meat can depend on what sauces are being used or how lean the cut is. A little confused as to which wines to pair with your meal?

Here is a look at what kinds of wine go best with meats from poultry to pork!

When in doubt, a good Sauvignon Blanc goes with most light meals while Pinot Noir goes well with a lot of red meat dishes, as well as chicken and salmon dishes.

What Drink Goes Best With Steak

There are many drinks that go well with steak, including whiskey, beer, types of white wine and red wine, martinis, and even non-alcoholic beverages. An Old Fashioned, rye, or bourbon whiskey goes great with steak, as the smoky aromas match the meal effortlessly.

Beers like pale ales, stouts, and Pilsners have dry tastes and medium alcohol content that naturally complement the rich, juicy texture of steak. Some beers that have mild to strong hops and spices make a great pair too, as their flavors match the herbiness of steak recipes.

Match Weight And Flavoring

Finding the right pair for your food and wine uses the same basic rules that encourage you to lemonade with your salad during a summer picnic or a decaf coffee with a chocolate cake dessert.

Pairing wine with similar weight and flavor qualities is a good simple guide to set yourself up for a wonderful meal: pair light foods with light wines and rich foods with rich wines.

Wine: A Tasting Course

If you are looking for the best wine to go with your steak, you need to think about the wine that complements the rich umami flavors. Steak is considered to be a food on the heavier side, so it typically tastes better with heavier wines.

Heres one simple phrase to remember: red wine goes with red meat. Pretty easy, right?

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The Best Wine With Steak

First things first lets clear a few things up. You dont want to start experimenting until you learn the basics. Sure, you can have a cocktail with steak. An Old Fashioned is delightful, and the spiciness of the bourbon helps accentuate the flavors of a well-seasoned steak. And white wine can also be delicious but its not a perfect pair for steak. Red wine is what you should choose to go with a steak. Its easy to remember red meat gets red wine. Beef is typically accompanied by a red while a white meat like chicken or fish is best served with a white. Some meat, like pork, dont fit neatly in either category and can be paired with either. Youve got to know the rules before you can break them. So, before you go experimenting with pairing cocktails or white wine with steak, start with the basics such as a high-quality red wine. Without further ado, lets jump into our top 5 red wine styles to pair with steaks.

What Kind Of Wine Goes With Steak And Seafood

4.1/5sauvignon blanc

Cabernet Sauvignon

Similarly, what kind of wine goes best with seafood? Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot GrigioThese are the aristocrats of white fish wines. Dry, austere, and crisp, chenin blanc and pinot grigio are the wines to reach for when serving lean, white fish cooked simply. Flounder, halibut, walleye, snapper, raw clams, or oysters all do well with these wines.

Beside above, what kind of wine goes with steak and lobster?

Try a Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon or a Rioja wine. Steak and Lobster. If you like white wines then try one that is full bodied like a red but will not overtake the taste of the lobster. A nice Sauvignon Blanc will do.

Do you drink red or white wine with steak?

You should never pair white wine with steakAs our sommelier explains, a nice red will always taste incredible with a steak, but that doesnt mean you should discount a bottle of well-chosen white. Patrick suggests going for a chenin blanc or another full-bodied and fruity white wine to pair with steak.

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Choosing The Best Wine Pairing

Despite all the prescriptive guidance available about pairing, its not an exact science. Its more of an interpretive art where creativity, fun, and pleasure should be your guide. Here is a set of non-rules to consider when pairing wines with food:

• There arent any hard and fast rules that always work
• Acidic wines cleanse fat from the palate
• Tannins are tamed by protein
• Spicy food is moderated by sweet wine
• Salty food pairs with acidic and tannic wines
• Pairings can be fun: try pairing like with like, or try contrasting flavors for a zanier approach

*Use our handy dandy filter to sort by Paso Robles wine types

Creating A Flavor Story

The key to creating a beautiful flavor story for your meal is to experiment, mix and match, and try combinations that you love. So think about what youve learned above and if all this talk of wine and steak has got you drooling for a filet and a glass of red, contact our restaurant near you, and make a reservation today.

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What Wine Does Sirloin Steak Go With

Its best to use an inky red color, especially if youre going to make a Malbec. Because of its fruity flavor and bold scent, it is a great match for steak with a more lean cut like a top sirloin or a flank steak.

Adding steak to your wine with a steak is a great way to enhance the flavor of both your drink and your food. The flavor of a good wine can complement steaks salty, fatty, umami butteriness, bringing out the acid tang and sweetness. The first and most important factor in deciding which steak to serve with which wine is its texture. When it comes to red meat, simple rules say it gets red wine. In general, beef and chicken should be served with a red sauce, while fish and chicken should be served with a white sauce. Cabernet Sauvignon is produced all over the world in Californias Napa Valley. If you prefer sweeter wines, youll find that Zinfandel is a good choice.

Wine pairings for steak can be found here. When it comes to steak and wine, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Although there are some general rules, you can start by following some of them. Make certain that the wine you choose has a high alcohol content. By adding this amount of water, the meat will be tenderized and flavored. Second, choose a wine with a high acidity. The meat will not become too tough as a result of this. Finally, choose a wine with an acidic and balanced flavor profile. You can use this method to make a delicious and succulent steak dinner.

Zinfandel & Ribeye Steak Pairing

When pairing Zinfandel with Ribeye Steak, Id recommend a full-bodied, fruit-bomb Zinfandel that is high in alcohol. These huge, Monster Truck wines in a bottle are bursting with ripe fruit flavours of blackberry, black cherry, plum and raspberry that offer a refreshing contrast against the Ribeyes robust meat flavours. Meanwhile, the black pepper, spice and smoky flavours add even more enjoyment to this pairing.

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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.

Vilafont 2013 Series M Paarl South Africa

Winemakers Zelma Long and Martin Smith crafted this delicious blend of Malbec, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in Paarl, South Africa. It has aromas of red plum, red raspberry and red currant. In the mouth it is well balanced with supple tannins and flavors of ripe red fruits and cassis. It is aged for 20 months in French oak barrels then additional time in the bottle before release. The 2013 is the current release and it is drinking beautifully right now. Pair yours with a thick steak cooked on the grill.

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Why Does Wine Go Well With Steak

A great wine can provide an acidity that brings out the saltiness of a steak while also providing a sweet, fruity taste that complements its rich flavors.

You might think that pairing steak with red wine would be a tough sell, but there are many delicious options available. After all, there is no one-size-fits-all, and everyone will have their preferences when it comes to flavors and mouthfeel.

A dry-aged filet mignon, served medium rare, needs something light and crisp to cut through its savory richness. You can also try to reverse sear the steak for the best results.

A rib-eye steak, cooked well done, will benefit from a full-bodied, fruit-forward red. If youre not familiar with steak, read on to get the basics down before you start experimenting.

Why Does Steak Go Well With Wine

In particular, steak goes with red wine because molecules called tannins soften the fat in the meat to release its flavour. The fat mellows the wines astringency, releasing more fruit flavours. Wines such as an Argentinian Malbec have a higher alcohol content, which makes them a good choice to pair with steak.

If youre looking for a wine to pair with your steak, youll want to look for one that has a high level of acidity, as this will make the steak more palatable to the palate. For example, a Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Grigio will be a better choice than a Chardonnay or Merlot.

If you dont have access to these types of wines, then you can always try pairing them with a red or white wine that is lower in alcohol.

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Wine And Steak: What About Steak Sauces

A vital notice in determining the wine that goes with steak is the gravy or sauce. To illustrate, bechamel, a creamy sauce, might accompany a well-known white wine called Chardonnay.

If you are accustomed to using more long-standing steak sauces, like peppercorn au Poivre, the Bordeaux red blend will be the best bet.

For sauces reducing the fruit’s sweetness, you should select a less tart wine, namely a ripe Syrah, because these sauces will spotlight the acidity of the wine to have the best scent.

Finally, a dark mushroom sauce should be paired with a more fruity wine like Grenache so that you could feel the inverse flavors.

The Very Best Wines For Steak

There are many types of wines out there, and each type has its own characteristics. There are different flavors, scents, mouthfeel, and so much more. Some wines are dry, while others are not.

Lets start with the basics. Red wines get their name because they are made from red grapes. White wine, on the other hand, is made from white grapes.

When making red wine, the grape skins are left intact, giving the wine a deep ruby color. As a red wine ages, the color will become deeper and more red.

Freshly made red wine looks more purple than red. This type of wine pairs well with foods that have strong flavors.

A rich, full-bodied red wine will complement a rich, flavorful steak perfectly. Similarly, a fruity red wine will complement the flavor of steaks like a ribeye perfectly.

White wine is made when the grape skins are removed. It has a slightly sweeter flavor than red wine.

The lighter body of white wine means it goes great with lighter foods. For example, a crisp, dry white wine works well with seafood or salads.

You can pair white wines or fruity red wines with salmon and tuna steaks to enhance the flavor. Generally, however, a full-bodied red isnt recommended for fish as it can result in an unpleasant aftertaste.

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The Seasoning On The Steak

The amount and type of seasoning can also play a pretty important role in your selection of what wine to go with steak. Here is a framework for pairing wine with steaks that different flavoring:

• Salt and Pepper Flavoring This one is easy. Steaks with simple salt and pepper seasoning can actually be paired with any wine.
• Sweet Flavoring Sweet flavoring on the steak means you should find a sweet wine to pair it with. We want to match the richness on your palate.
• Heavily-seasoned or Spiced Meats Again, we should match our wine to the seasoning on the steak. So in this scenario, we should pair steak with bold spices with a robust or spicy red wine.

What Wine Goes Best With Filet Mignon

When choosing the best type of wine with steak, filet is sure to be top of your list. Filet mignon is a tender, melt-in-your-mouth cut that comes from the middle of the tenderloin. Because filet mignon has a more delicate, refined flavor, look for a light pinot noir that isnt going to overwhelm the cut.

Pinot noirs have a fruitiness about them that complements the subtle flavor of the meat without being overpowering. An Argentinian malbec is also an excellent choice for pairing with filet mignon. The malbec’s velvety tannins are a good match to the texture and flavor of the filet.

• Best wine with filet mignon: Pinot noir

via Canva

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Pairing Tip: Why A Spanish Red Works With This Dish

This buttery steak with garlic and rosemary cries out for a big wine with herbed aromatics. A red from Spain, where rosemary and garlic proliferate, is a great choice, and Priorat, with its mix of black fruit, mineral and herb notes, is an especially good match.

Chef’s PickCims de Porrera Priorat Classic 2004

Best White Wine To Drink With Steak

Some people prefer white wine over red wine. Which makes it difficult to pair a good steak with wine. But there are some fantastic white wines that enhance the flavors of the steak and complement it perfectly. Try to find a white wine with high acidity and a high amount of tannins to balance the richness of the steak. Its all about personal preference when choosing a red versus a white wine to go with your steak. So dont think a white wine cant complement a steak.

Another reason to choose a white wine is when enjoying surf and turf! Often, white wines go best with seafood, so you may want to pair with the surf instead of the turf. Steak & lobster or steak & shrimp pair very well with white wines with a high fruitiness and aromatic intensity.

Steak Tartare can also be paired with white wine. Choose one that has a slight salty and mineral flavor profile.

Here are some great choices for white wine with steak.

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Does Pinot Noir Go With Steak

Most Pinot Noir wines tend to sit at the light to medium-bodied end of the spectrum, and its profile is often therefore paired-up with lighter meats.

Yet Pinot Noirs natural acidity and bright, red berry fruit can work with your steak dinner, depending on the style and the cut.

In general, think about trying this with leaner cuts, such as fillet, cooked rare to medium-rare.

I dont normally think of Pinot Noir as a match for steak, but the best pairing by far, when the meat was cooked rare, was a classically silky, seductive Daniel Rion, Vosne-Romanée 2001, wrote food and wine expert Fiona Becket after tasting several fine wines with steak for magazine back in 2007.

Gran Enemigo 2017 Gualtallary Mendoza

Grapes for this Argentine red blend are grown in Alejandro Vigil and Adrianna Catenas Gualtallary vineyard in the Uco Valley. It is a combination of 85 percent Cabernet Franc and 15 percent Malbec and it is deep purple in the glass with aromas of brown baking spices, ripe black cherries and just a whiff of mint. In the mouth there are flavors of black raspberries and black plums with a touch of milk chocolate and a pleasant lift of peppermint in the finish.

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The 5 Best Wines To Pair With Steak

Want to learn about the best wine pairings with steak? Ive got you covered.

Im all about a great steak dinner Steak Diane, sous vide filet mignon, ribeye steak or even these steak bites all pair amazingly well with wine

The type of wine you choose will determine on how your steak is prepared and what steak sauce you might be serving with it.

So keep reading to learn more about the best steak + wine pairings.

Also, when planning your dinner, be sure to check out 50+ of the best sides for steak and these yummy sauces for steak!

Simply Seasoned Chicken Or Pork Chops Or Meatier Grilled Fish

The Tom Gore Chardonnay is ideal for simply seasoned chicken or pork chops as well as meatier grilled fish.

This creamy California Chardonnay features apple, vanilla and butter notes.

The richness of the wine and its flavours go well with simply seasoned, heartier cuts of poultry and fish.

Available at LCBO for $17.95/750mL.

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