When choosing a wine to drink with steak, you can either select one with strong tannins and deep, rich flavors that will stand up to the juicy steak. Or you can choose a wine with light acidity and a lean body to cleanse the palate and cut through the fat, which will act as a contrast to the steak. Here are five wines selected by Food Republic for a good pairing with steak:
Natalino Del Prete “Anne” Negroamaro 2010, Puglia
Negroamaro means “black-bitter,” and while the wine is certainly dark in color, it’s not really bitter at all. This one is made from grapes grown on 70-year-old vines without the use of any pesticides or herbicides and fermented naturally. It’s bottled unfiltered for a beautifully textured mouthfeel to go with the dark fruit, spice and funky earth notes the wine shows.
Chono Reserva Carménère 2011, Chile
A hearty Bordeaux is another quintessential steak wine. But with Bordeaux prices out of reach for many of us, you might opt to look at a Chilean Carménère instead. The grape is native to the famous French wine region, but has flourished in Chile. Chono farms its grapes organically to produce a deep, rich Carménère with just a hint of spice backing up the pure fruit flavors coming through.
Copain Tous Ensemble Syrah 2010, Sonoma
We all know California makes powerhouse Cabs. But its cool-climate Syrahs are also something to crow about. Based in the Russian River Valley, Copain turns out a harmonious Syrah made in the northern Rhône style. It’s elegant and savory, balancing floral and mineral character, with a hint of smoked sausage at the finish.
Bodegas Muga Reserva 2008, Rioja
Well aged tempranillo is another go-to pairing for grilled, marbled beef. This typical Rioja blend of mostly tempranillo, some garnacha and dashes of mazuelo and graciano from the heralded house of Muga is full of dark brooding fruit, vanilla and cocoa notes, and a hint of the herbaceous. It’s got a solid structure, with assertive tannins that aren’t overbearingly grippy. K&L Wine Merchants, $22
Domaine du Traginer Collioure Rouge 2009, Languedoc-Roussillon
There is a descriptor used in wine that we love: animal. Some people say ‘barnyard,’ but we prefer the Franco-Latin term that communicates just what it might taste like to lick the flank of living, breathing horse – only, not really. This Roussillon blend has plenty of ripe and tart forest fruit, spice and floral notes, plus that funky animal quality that just lends itself so well to steak.