Contents:
- Let’s start with types of cut! Or, beef characteristics
- Beef fillet, filet mignon, tournedos, chateaubriand
- New York Strip-style steaks (French term: faux filet)
- Entrecôte (ribeye steak)
- Porterhouse (and T-bone and club steak as variations)
- Does the cooking method affect the choice of wine?
- Does the sauce matter too?
- Wine pairings for different steak types, doneness levels, and sauces
In the article “Basic Principles of Wine and Food Pairing,” I examined the fundamental flavor components of wines and foods and how they interact. Now, we are embarking on a brief journey into the succulent world of meat, where a variety of sauces, spices, and side dishes reign supreme. And for dessert—at the end of this article—you’ll find a curated selection of wines to match different types of meat and recipes. Enjoy the flavors. 🙂
Let’s start with types of cut! Or, beef characteristics
Wine and beef…
It might seem like the most obvious and straightforward pairing, where the color of the wine plays the leading role. In reality, however, one cannot overlook details such as the cut of meat, the aging process, the level of doneness, and the accompanying sauce. Delving even deeper, the animal’s breed and diet also play a role.
Let us focus on the essentials and highlight the key characteristics of meat dishes that determine the choice of wine:
– texture: whether the meat is tender or tough (depending on the cut and cooking method);
– aroma and flavor profile of the meat itself: neutral or aromatic, fatty or lean (depending on breed, diet, and aging);
– flavor profile of the dish as a whole: determined by the cooking method and the sauce.
Let’s look at some examples to understand how to select the right wine for a dish that—while seemingly simple and straightforward—is actually quite complex.
Beef fillet, filet mignon, tournedos, Chateaubriand
These types of steaks are made from the most tender and soft cut of beef (the tenderloin); the difference between them lies in how they are sliced (the fillet is cut across the grain into thinner pieces, whereas the Chateaubriand is cut into thicker ones).
The tenderloin is a muscle located along the animal’s back; because it does less work than other muscles, it is the softest. Consequently, meat from this section has a delicate texture and is considered a delicacy. 
A wine with velvety, delicate tannins and medium body is a suitable choice.
Excellent choices:
– Pinot Noir wines, such as Burgundy wines at the Village level—known for their softness compared to other red Burgundies—like Santenay or Volnay. – Pinot Noir from the Loire Valley (Sancerre region), an area better known for its white wines.
– Pinot Noir from Germany (Ahr, Rheinhessen, or Rheingau regions). These wine regions feature a moderate—or even cool—continental climate. Consequently, their Pinot Noirs possess the acidity (above average to high) required to complement the rare-to-medium-rare doneness recommended for beef tenderloin.
– New World Pinot Noir, characterized by juicier fruit notes and a fuller body; a notable example is New Zealand Pinot Noir from the Marlborough region, which tends to be more delicate and subtle.
– Chianti (Tuscany) and Langhe (Piedmont) are two other excellent pairings for tenderloin, thanks to the natural acidity of the Nebbiolo and Sangiovese grape varieties.
– Premier Cru Burgundy or Pinot Noir from Limoux (Languedoc) are suitable choices for Chateaubriand. This cut has a slightly denser texture than standard tenderloin (due to the thickness of the meat) but remains equally tender.
However, wines with aggressive, powerful tannins and a heavy body are best reserved for a different dish.
Questionable choices: Tannat from the Madiran appellation, or Southern French wines made from Mourvèdre—such as those from Bandol or Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Even after significant bottle aging, these wines often retain high tannin levels, a full body, and intense flavors. They are better suited to a game stew braised in red wine than to the delicate texture and relatively neutral flavor of tenderloin.
New York Strip Steaks (French term: *faux filet*)
These steaks are cut from the loin section located between the tenderloin and the rib section (hence the name faux filet). They contain more fat than the tenderloin but less than the ribeye. Therefore, more robust wines with ample tannins and acidity are suitable. This is exactly where tannins come in handy!
Excellent choices:
– Left Bank Bordeaux—such as Médoc, Haut-Médoc, or Pessac-Léognan—dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, can cut through the meat’s fattiness thanks to the variety’s acidity and astringency.
– Tuscan wines like Rosso di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano offer a similar effect; the Sangiovese grapes here—grown in a climate slightly warmer and drier than the Tuscan coast—achieve ripeness while retaining their natural acidity.
– From the New World, consider Chilean Carménère and Uruguayan Tannat; the latter features a softer, juicier, and fruitier profile—with less astringency—than its Madiran counterpart.
In principle, this is a fairly versatile, wine-friendly dish that pairs well with most medium-bodied wines possessing high to above-average acidity. Questionable: avoid refined, complex, aged red wines, which may simply be overshadowed by the succulent, flavor-rich meat, as well as rosés, which are crafted for lighter dishes (such as vegetables or seafood).
Entrecôte (Ribeye Steak)
The entrecôte is cut from the rib section (the French term clearly indicates this: “entrecote” literally translates to “between the ribs”). This cut is fattier than the previous ones due to the strip of fat running through the meat (which gave rise to the English name “ribeye”—combining “rib” and “eye”).
As I mentioned in my article on wine and food pairing principles, fat acts somewhat as a flavor enhancer; consequently, the relatively fatty entrecôte boasts a more pronounced flavor. You should choose wines that match this profile—bold and full-bodied, with a rich fruit bouquet.
Excellent choices:
– A relatively young Châteauneuf-du-Pape (aged 5–7 years);
– Cornas wines (made from the Syrah grape);
– Australian Shiraz from the Barossa Valley;
– Cabernet Sauvignon or Bordeaux-style blends from Tuscany will also be sufficiently bold and full-bodied for an entrecôte.
Questionable choices: As with the New York Strip, light-bodied wines—such as Old World Pinot Noir, Beaujolais (Villages and Nouveau), and aged Burgundies—will almost certainly be overpowered by the entrecôte.
Porterhouse (and T-bone or club steak variants)
This steak comes from the junction of the strip loin and the tenderloin, incorporating the bone to which both cuts are attached. As is generally the case with meat and poultry, the presence of the bone makes the steak exceptionally juicy and flavorful. Therefore, rich, full-bodied wines with firm tannins are excellent choices.
Excellent choices:
– Pomerol;
– Grand Cru Classé Bordeaux (from either the Left or Right Bank);
– Super Tuscans, such as Bolgheri.
Does the cooking method affect the choice of wine?
As it turns out, yes.
What fascinates me about the theory of food and wine pairing is the scope it offers for (almost) limitless imagination and experimentation. Here are just a few of my ideas for different ways of cooking beef:
Grilled beef. Its characteristic smoky aroma can be echoed in the wine through the principle of similarity (see the article on the basic principles of food and wine pairing). Cuts commonly used for grilling include the ribeye, T-bone, and New York strip, all of which were discussed earlier.
Suitable wines are those with sufficient body, acidity (especially if the steak is served rare), and tannins. For example, a South African Pinotage works well, as it features pronounced juicy berry notes complemented by a distinct smoky nuance. Alternatively, if following the principle of regional affinity, meat grilled over dried grapevine cuttings pairs beautifully with a young wine from the Médoc region.
Roasted beef. This immediately brings to mind “rôti de bœuf”, the famous Sunday roast prepared by French home for a family lunch. It is made from the most tender cut—the fillet—seasoned with garlic and herbs for aroma, and typically roasted to medium-rare or medium doneness.
For this dish, I would recommend a delicate Burgundy wine from the “Village” appellation level, known for their soft texture—such as Santenay or Volnay. Another option is a young Right Bank Bordeaux—though lighter in style than the serious Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé wines or their immediate peers. Wines from the Côtes-de-Bordeaux appellation group would also be a fitting choice.
Pan-seared beef. The type of steak and the level of doneness play a crucial role in the preparation, as there are no added flavors—such as smoke—to mask the meat. Aside from salt, pepper, and the oil (infused with garlic, rosemary, and thyme) used for frying, the ingredients serve to highlight rather than conceal the meat’s natural flavor. A perfect example is the famous, succulent Florentine T-bone steak.
It pairs beautifully with Chianti Classico, Chianti Ruffino, and Chianti Colli Senesi, as well as other robust Tuscan wines like Vino Nobile di Montepulciano or Bolgheri. Among French wines, selections from the Northern Rhône (Cornas, Côte-Rôtie) and Bordeaux (Saint-Émilion Grand Cru and the Médoc region) make excellent companions for such a hearty cut of meat.
Boiled beef. This dish is almost always a component of more complex preparations, particularly soups. Examples include Japanese soups or the traditional Viennese beef soup.
While pairing wine with broth-based soups isn’t exactly my preference, I can still suggest some suitable combinations. Beef soup contains not only the boiled meat itself—its protein component—but also the meat broth. The broth is rich in umami and vegetables, offering a complex array of flavors that do not always pair well with red wine. Thus, beef soup can be considered an exception to the rule: a dish where white wine can be served with red meat!
The wine needs enough body to complement the meat’s texture but should not have undergone extensive oak aging, as the tannins might clash with the umami flavors.
Suitable choices include an Alsatian Pinot Gris, a Chardonnay from southern Burgundy (such as Mâcon), or white wines from southern Italy like Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi or Fiano di Avellino. These wines possess the right balance of medium body, good acidity, and expressive aromatics to harmonize with all the soup’s components.
But what if you prefer red wine?
Don’t despair; there is a great alternative for you, too: red wines that are neither heavy nor overly tannic. Examples include Beaujolais-Villages, Dolcetto d’Alba from Italy’s Piedmont region, and Blaufränkisch from Austria.
Cured, smoked, and dried meats. Here, we will focus not only on beef but also on pork. These meats are characterized by dominant salty and umami notes, sometimes enhanced by spices (as in Jambon de Bayonne) and herbs.
Once again, let us recall the principles of food and wine pairing. For dishes featuring umami flavors and spicy seasonings, one should avoid astringent, full-bodied wines (or indeed, any serious red wines). My recommendation is to opt for white wines—though not those with high acidity or pronounced minerality—or very light reds with minimal tannins.
Why choose these specific wines? If you were to break the rules and select a high-acidity, highly mineral white wine, the result would be an odd combination; while it might not produce an outright unpleasant taste, the pairing lacks harmony.
In the case of a red wine rich in tannins —under the influence of spices and umami, tannins become harsh and bitter, while the sensation of “heat” (i.e., the warming effect of alcohol) intensifies. Therefore…
In this case, my recommendations are the same as for soups: a medium-bodied, unoaked white wine—such as whites from Southern Italy or Provence—or a rosé or light red, like Beaujolais-Villages or Lambrusco.
Take Lambrusco with Parmesan and ham, for instance—the embodiment of the principle of regional food and wine pairing. This is exactly the pairing we were offered during a tasting at the Giacobazzi winery. Lambrusco’s light effervescence and acidity strike a perfect balance against the rather fatty cheese and ham, effectively cleansing the palate.
Is the sauce important, too?
Just as important as the cooking method! A sauce can act as a bridge between the wine and the meat, or it can be the deciding factor in which wine you choose.
Meat sauces come in a huge variety: wine-based, berry, mushroom, truffle, tarragon, pepper… to name just a few. You should pay particular attention to the sauce when dealing with braised dishes—such as the famous “Boeuf Bourguignon” (beef braised in red wine).
Of course, we can’t cover such a vast topic in just a couple of paragraphs. Still, I’d like to highlight a few key points.
Rich, wine-based sauces with bold flavors (like the wine sauce in Boeuf Bourguignon or daube provençale). Ideally, you should cook with the same wine you plan to serve with the meal, though you might hesitate to do so for psychological reasons. A good alternative for cooking is a high-quality but simpler wine that is similar in style.
For rich Boeuf Bourguignon, a Volnay or Nuits-Saint-Georges works well; for daube provençale, try a Ventoux or Luberon—wines that aren’t overly powerful but still offer serious character. 
Berry sauce. Here, one must consider the acidity of the berries themselves and the sauce’s slight sweetness. In my view, an interesting pairing would be a blackcurrant sauce matched with vibrant wines that share similar notes of blackcurrant, plum, and cherry—along with a hint of cocoa and soft tannins; the wines could even be slightly sweet.
Thus, the principle of similarity applies here. Delicate tannins—even if clearly perceptible—combined with a touch of residual sugar will blend harmoniously with the sweetness of the sauce.
Suitable options: Grenache from the Southern Rhône Valley, a Grenache-Syrah-Mourvèdre blend, or Primitivo from Puglia. 
Mushroom sauce. White wines generally pair better with mushrooms than reds do. However, if the dish includes red meat, you should opt for a red wine. Mushrooms possess distinctive forest and earthy notes—sometimes with a hint of bitterness or a meaty flavor (as with Portobello mushrooms)—and your wine choice should be guided by these characteristics.
Consider a Merlot-dominant Bordeaux (such as Saint-Émilion and its satellite appellations)—where the tannins have softened and a “mushroom” aroma has developed—or aged Burgundies.
Herb-based sauce. Béarnaise sauce immediately comes to mind; generously seasoned with tarragon, it adds a unique tanginess to the meat.
Here, I would recommend choosing red wines that also feature pronounced acidity (such as Chianti Classico or Valpolicella), as this creates a more harmonious pairing with the sauce. 
Wine pairings for various steak types, doneness levels, and sauces
Maison Champy, Volnay 2017.
A very fresh and elegant wine! It also boasts a rich bouquet that lingers in the long finish.
The grapes are sourced from various plots owned by Maison Champy, resulting in a harmonious wine. Key notes include berries (red cherry, red currant, red plum, and wild strawberry) alongside subtle aromas of pepper and toast. The wine features velvety tannins and high acidity, making it an ideal match for a filet steak or a rare roasted tenderloin.
Pairing options: Filet (roasted or grilled), wine-based sauces, or beef stew.
Patache d’Aux 2016. Médoc Cru Bourgeois
A classic Médoc-style wine dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon. It displays notes of black and red cherry, herbs, violet, clove, and toast. It also features high acidity and firm, slightly assertive tannins—characteristics typical of its youth and the specific vintage.
Pairing options: Grilled New York Strip.
Ornellaia. La Volte 2013. IGT Toscana. Owned by the Robert Mondavi family, this winery produces a wine that embodies the characteristics of the category unofficially—yet widely—known as “Super Tuscans.”
It is a barrel-aged blend of Bordeaux varieties (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon) and a Tuscan variety (Sangiovese). It boasts a rich, complex bouquet featuring ripe berries, hints of cherry and plum jam, licorice, and spices, alongside subtle tertiary notes of dried herbs and forest floor. The wine possesses a serious structure, powerful yet non-drying tannins, and notably high acidity.
It feels quite full-bodied yet balanced, thanks precisely to that interplay of tannins and acidity.
Food pairing: An excellent match for a juicy grilled ribeye steak.
Chateau Bellegrave: Pomerol 2012
This family-owned estate in a prestigious Right Bank Bordeaux appellation produces remarkable, rich wines characterized by vibrant flavors of ripe red and black berries, excellent concentration, elegant tannins, and a long finish. At the same time, it offers extraordinary freshness—with sufficient acidity and a refined minty note that create a harmonious balance. One of my personal favorites.
Pairing suggestions: grilled porterhouse.
Juris. Burgenland. Blaufränkisch 2015.
A fruity, smooth Blaufränkisch with moderate tannins.
I first tried the unusual combination of beef soup and wine—specifically red wine—at an Austrian restaurant. My own experiment with it was a great success! The wine paired perfectly with the traditional beef soup.
Pairing suggestions: beef soup, roasted fillet.
Vidal-Fleury.
A major, renowned producer of wines from both the Northern and Southern Rhône Valley, offering a portfolio that covers virtually all the region’s appellations.
I recommend trying the southern Gigondas or Vacqueyras; they share a similar profile to Châteauneuf-du-Pape but come at a lower price point. While slightly less full-bodied and tannic, they are still robust enough to stand up to the bold flavors of a steak served with a berry sauce.
Pairing suggestions: New York strip, entrecôte with berry sauce.
Couvent des Jacobins. Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 1998.
A wonderful example of how high-quality Saint-Émilion wines are crafted for 10–20 years of aging and reward those who have the patience to wait. With its rich bouquet, elegant and well-structured tannins, and a harmonious blend of juicy berry and spicy notes—complemented by tertiary aromas of mushroom, tobacco, and forest floor, and a long, fruity finish—this wine is the perfect accompaniment to beef fillet with mushroom sauce.
Pairing suggestions: grilled or oven-roasted fillet, Chateaubriand with mushroom sauce.
Of course, the variety of meat dishes extends well beyond beef alone. However, we will cover those other options in detail in future articles.
Bon Appétit!
