How to Choose a Good Wine for Beef

When choosing wine to go with beef, take into consideration the sauces, seasonings and cooking methods used to prepare the dish.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Red Wines
• Steaks
• Wine Glasses

1. Consider the strength of the flavors and aromas in the dish. Pair powerful flavors and aromas with a powerful wine. If the flavors are more delicate, choose a wine with more finesse.

2. Pair full-flavored dishes such as steak au poivre with a wine that has lots of black pepper aromas and flavors. The best are made with grenache, especially those from the Gigondas region of France's Rhone Valley, Chateauneuf du Pape and Spain's Rioja.

3. For a delicate beef carpaccio or steak tartare, choose wines with subtle red-meat aromas, such as cabernet sauvignons and merlots. Wines from the Napa Valley floor and Bordeaux exemplify this style.

4. For "beefy" dishes such as grilled steak, choose intense, smoky wines, such as Barolo or Barbaresco. Big, tarry cabernet sauvignons from the Napa Valley and mountains can also stand up to a juicy steak.

5. Choose a less complex wine to go with s complex sauce. You don't want your wine to compete with your sauce, and vice versa.

6. For hearty beef stews with heavy spices and herbs, pick spicy syrah-based wines from the Rhone regions of Hermitage and Cote Rotie or California's central coast.

Tips & Warnings

• As you learn the flavor and aromatic profiles of red wines various regions, pairing them will become almost second-nature.

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[grapegirls]

on 3/13/2009 Don't be afraid to try new things and shake things up a little when pairing food and wine! You won't know until you try and many times will be pleasantly surprised. Just be respectful of your guests and keep the basics on-hand. Cheers!

on 11/22/2005 Start with whatever wines you like. Probably a white wine or a young red or rose is easier to start with than a full body. Someone mentioned not to go over $45, which I think is way too much. Start with inexpensive wines. Trader Joe's has a very decent selection for $4.99 and less. These are excellent wines to start with. Under all circumstances, avoid those peach and strawberry wines as if your life depended on it. That is not wine.

on 11/22/2005 Some of the greatest tasting steaks or chicken thighs have been created using Merlot. Dry rub the steak (or chicken) with a simple salt, pepper, and lemon salt. Marinate the steak(s) with Merlot red wine, letting it set with a tin foil covering in the refrigerator. You can now start the charcoal. It usually will take 1/2 an hour for the coals to be perfect, unless of course you're using a gas grill. Electing to use charcoal, allows almost the perfect time to marinate the steak (or chicken). Use the excess juices to coat the meat while cooking. This also works extremely well with fish, such as salmon.

on 11/22/2005 Great wines depend on how great your knowledge of wine is. To truly appreciate good wines you need to know what to look for, it takes training the palette to recognize desirable attributes. Until you can genuinely appreciate wine, keep yourself limited to a maximum of $45 a bottle in shops, it's easy to spend more, it takes time to appreciate why you're spending it.

on 12/15/2005 If you are planning a special dinner with recipes such as minestrone soup, Spanish Menestra, eggplants, zucchini, or pasta with vegetables or even salmon, then an Italian Lambrusco, a sparkling rosý is the right choice.

It is neither a Champagne nor a common wine, and it will add some class to a special menu.