5 Fabulous Steak and Wine Pairings

With summer, just around the corner our mind now shifts to a great piece of steak and a glass of our favourite red wine. From well charred, melt-in-your-mouth eye fillets to juicy rib eyes cooked to perfection over an open flame, there’s something mouth-wateringly primeval about cutting into a juicy hunk of beef. And while the simple wisdom of “red wine with red meat” certainly works, a little more attention to detail will ensure optimal wine-and-steak harmony.

Steak: Eye Fillet

Pairing: Pinot Noir from Central Otago

Optimum Serving Temperature: Best served cooled — 12 to 16 degrees
Notes: “There is less fat content in this cut of steak, so a milder red or a white with high acid is a good match.”

Steak: Porterhouse and T-Bone

Pairing: Cabernet Sauvignon/Blend or Merlot

Optimum Serving Temperature: Best served at room temperature — 16 to 18 degrees
Notes: “It’s a tough choice, as you are pairing with two different cuts. Coonawarra and Margaret River blends are excellent.”

Steak: Rib-eye and Scotch Fillet

Pairing: Shiraz

Optimum Serving Temperature: Best served at room temperature — 16 to 18 degrees
Notes: A savoury Barossa or Heathcote Shiraz goes great with the steak’s
pronounced beef flavour and marbling.

Steak: Hangar or Butcher’s

Pairing: Sangiovese

Optimum Serving Temperature: Best served at room temperature — 16 to 18 degrees
Notes: “Sangioveses are typically pretty tannic, leaving a dry and sometimes cloying feeling on the tongue. But when paired with a rare hanger steak, the tannins soften and the fruit flavours really emerge.”

Steak: Wagyu

Pairing: Nebbiolo

Optimum Serving Temperature: Best served at room temperature — 16 to 18 degrees
Notes: “The tannin of the Nebbiolo will be attracted to the high fat content in the Wagyu. A Barolo or Barbaresco is the ultimate”

At Grand Cru, we are the wine fridge experts and can provide you with state of the art wine fridges to keep your wine at the perfect serving temperature all year round.