Six wine styles to try with beef:
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Cabernet Sauvignon
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Shiraz
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Malbec
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Nebbiolo (Barolo)
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Pinot Noir
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Chardonnay (oaked)
Search Decanter wine reviews to find the perfect bottle
Choosing a wine to drink with roast beef
It’s hard to beat a delicious bottle of red wine with roast beef or hearty beef stew on a wintry afternoon, whether it’s Christmas Day or simply a relaxed Sunday lunch.
Classic fuller-bodied reds, such as Bordeaux blends led by Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot, Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the southern Rhône or Australian Shiraz, are often considered go-to wines that can match the flavour intensity of a roast beef dish.
Decanter’s Julie Sheppard recently praised the clean cassis fruit, spice and leathery tannins in this Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon from Wynns. ‘It’s a perfect winter warmer wine that will match with all manner of hearty meat dishes.’
A refreshing dose of acidity can work wonders, particularly if you also have a range of trimmings on the dinner table.
Leaner cuts, or beef served rare or pink, may not need such a bold style of wine.
South American wine expert Patricio Tapia, editor of the annual Guida Descorchados, previously recommended fresher styles of Malbec with steak.
For tannic wines built to last, such as top Barolo, several years of ageing in-bottle should help tannins to soften and integrate.
A delicious array of complex flavours can develop, backed by enduring fruit and acidity that bring vibrancy and energy.
All of this said, however, remember that food and wine pairing is highly subjective. Wine characteristics may also vary by producer and vintage, so a bit of research can also pay dividends.
Principles: what type of wine goes best with beef?
Pairing wine with beef offers plenty of scope for experimenting, but the following aspects are worth considering:
- cut
- age
- cooking time
- accompaniments
Flavour intensity is important. Clara Rubin, head of wine for Hawksmoor steakhouse restaurants, told Decanter, ‘Think about food and wine pairing like a boxing match.
‘It doesn’t make sense to put a feather-weight in the ring with a heavyweight, it’s just not a fair fight.’
She added, ‘For example, ribeye is a juicy and open-textured cut, whereas sirloin is juicy but closer textured, rump is lean but close-textured, and fillet is as lean and loose-textured as it gets.
‘For the leaner fillet steak, a low-tannin, lighter style of wine would work wonderfully.’
This is because you don’t need a wine with as much heft to match the cut of beef.
‘Something like Pinot Noir (either Burgundy or New Zealand works well) or Beaujolais (with its soft, fruity Gamay grape) would be perfect.
Rubin added, ‘Rump is also a leaner cut, but you might want to find something a little more robust to compete with those tighter fibres.’
She suggested an oaked Chardonnay, or Barbera from Northern Italy.
‘I shared a Porterhouse at Hawksmoor Wood Wharf with an old friend recently. I had the softer fillet side with Elvio Cogno Barbera d’Alba Pre-Phylloxera and it was just perfect.’
Fat and tannin: red wine and beef heaven
Fattier cuts of beef have a deeper flavour than leaner cuts.
‘For a fatty rib-eye – or even a tight-textured sirloin – you can afford to have much higher acidity and tannin levels in your wines,’ said Rubin.
‘A robust Cabernet Sauvignon from Bordeaux, say, or an Aussie shiraz.
‘The feisty tannins in these wines love salt and fat. It makes them softer, rounder and more easygoing.’
Think about the cooking time
‘The basic rule is that the longer you leave the meat on the grill, the bigger the wine needs to be to match up,’ said Rubin.
‘High heat, as we all know, creates crust; a sort of caramelisation of the meat.’
This process is known as the Maillard reaction, named after French scientist Louis Camille Maillard.
Chemical reactions between amino acids and reducing sugars generate the browning effect, and range of complex flavours and aromas.
Below the surface, Rubin added that salty, umami flavours come to the fore in the meat, and that fibres tighten as cooking time increases.
‘With all that flavour, fat and salt, you are best off going for a big, bold bottle with plenty of oomph.’
Can you drink white wine with beef?
Long considered a classic faux-pas, some white wines can actually pair really well with beef at the dining table.
Added to which, personal preference is always important.
‘Not everyone likes red wine – the bitterness of tannin doesn’t suit everyone,’ said Rubin. ‘That’s where barrel-aged [or] older, (and richer) white wines come in.
‘They work fantastically well with steak. White Burgundy (Chardonnay) is a classic example, but then southern hemisphere Viogniers and Semillons are perfect with a righteous rump, too.’
Sauce may affect your choice
Many of the classic sauces with beef hold pretty strong flavour themselves. This might mean a bolder wine makes sense, even with leaner cuts.
Roast beef with red wine sauce or jus might work better with a red that showcases riper fruit, while a traditional gravy has more savoury elements to consider.
In this Decanter article on pairing wine with steak, Lorenzo Tili, head sommelier at The Goring, recommended Sangiovese wines with a rich béarnaise sauce.
Tili referenced Chianti Classico Gran Selezione or Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva.
Tasting notes: Inspiration for pairing wine with beef this Christmas
The wines below have been recently reviewed by Decanter experts.
