The best wine pairing for steak (updated)

Steak is a natural partner for red wine, but is there a definitive “best” red for steak?

While it’s easy to say that any good red will do, you can fine tune the match. The cut of the steak, the way it’s cooked, and the sauce you choose all play a role in determining which wine will work best with your dish. And if you’re not a red wine drinker you can even pair steak with white wine too.

Here are the key factors to bear in mind when you’re choosing a wine for steak:

How rare or well done it is
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 full-bodied red - a cabernet sauvignon or malbec, for instance - a rare steak will make it taste smoother and more mellow

How charred the outside of the steak is
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.

How much fat there is on the cut
The fattier a steak is the more robust a wine it needs. Rhône reds or other syrah or GSM (grenache/syrah/mourvèdre) blends are perfectly suited to ribeye steaks while a leaner fillet steak pairs better with a pinot noir.

What sauce you’re serving with it
Sauces make a difference. A rich red wine sauce like my Essential Steak Sauce will need a wine that can stand up to it like a malbec or a good quality red Bordeaux. (If you’re making the sauce yourself drink a wine of slightly better quality than you used to make the sauce).

With a peppercorn sauce you don’t want a wine that’s too oaky and/or high in alcohol or it may make each mouthful too spicy. A ripe Rhône or Languedoc red such as a Minervois should work well.

With a béarnaise sauce a pinot noir is a good match or you could even drink a rich white like a Meursault or other full-bodied chardonnay.

With a punchy Argentine chimichurri sauce malbec is the obvious go to.

How old the wine is
If you’re serving an older red ease back on the saucing and serve the wine with its natural juices. If it’s a very old vintage you might even want to serve the steak medium-rare rather than rare - and hold the salad.

My 5 best wines for steak

All that said these are the wines I regularly go back to with steak and which won’t let you down. (Basically we’re talking full-bodied reds)

1. Malbec (especially Argentinian malbec)

Malbec has earned its place as a go-to steak wine, particularly those from Argentina. Why? They’re satisfyingly rich, smooth and plummy - real crowd pleasers. Look out particularly from wines from the Uco Valley.

Check out this idea for a Steak and Malbec supper 

2. Cabernet and cabernet/merlot blends e.g. red Bordeaux

Elegant structured cabernet sauvignon such as the ones you get from the Napa Valley are fantastic with most steaks - equally so when the wine has a proportion of merlot. Steak is probably the ideal way to show off a special bottle, especially with a classic red wine sauce

See also Six of the best pairings for Cabernet Sauvignon

3. Merlot

Merlot is generally softer, smoother and more velvety than cabernet on its own so well suited to leaner cuts like fillet and rump. It goes well with mushrooms too

See also Which foods pair best with merlot

4. Shiraz/syrah

Both shiraz and syrah work with steak in slightly different ways. Australian shiraz in the same way as cabernet sauvignon and malbec - it’s a similarly full bodied red to serve with a nicely charred steak cooked over the coals. Syrah is more savoury - a better choice with a classic steak frites.

See also six of the best food pairings for Australian shiraz

5. ‘Supertuscans’ and other modern Tuscan reds

Although Chianti Classico is a great pairing for the classic bistecca alla Fiorentina more modern Tuscan reds which contain a higher proportion of cabernet and merlot are probably a more versatile match if you’re serving a steak with a creamy sauce or lots of sides.

See also

The best wine pairings for steak tartare

The best wine and beer pairings for a steak pie

You can also serve steak with sake as you can see from this free post

Top image by Natalia Lisovskaya at shutterstock.com