Top 10 Tips for Pairing Cabernet Sauvignon with Steak

A chef’s guide to finding the perfect wine for your favorite cut of beef

Does a glass of silky cabernet sauvignon always taste its best with an expertly grilled steak? We decided to put America’s most beloved food and wine pairing to the test and study how different styles of cabernet sauvignon pair with different cuts of beef. Young, old, soft or powerful cabernets—which would be the best pairing for filet mignon, ribeye and other favorite steaks? And why do tannic red wines taste so good with steak?

The result of “research” at three different restaurants is Ten Tips for Pairing Cabernet Sauvignon Wine with Steak.

Before diving into this advice, it’s important to understand what happens to our taste buds once this carnivorous marriage meets our lips. A big part of what makes cabernet and steak such a natural food and wine pairing is grounded in chemistry—and I don’t mean that romantic conversation over a candlelit dinner—though it helps. The tannins found in grape skins and wine barrels contribute two characteristics on your taste buds: bitterness and astringency. Tannins bind with proteins and fats ferociously, and steaks are protein-rich and fat-heavy foods (though some cuts have less fat than others, as noted below). This means high-tannin red wines pair well with high-protein foods. When we take a sip of a tannic red, the tannins in the wine bind to natural saliva proteins in our mouths, making the wine taste less astringent. When we combine this sensory reaction with a juicy bite of steak, the wine’s tannins also bind with the protein and fat in the steak, making the wine taste softer, smoother. Basically, fats wash away the tannins on your tongue. A wine’s acid also cuts the fat in food, and a steak’s chargrilled edge mirrors the wine’s tannin. You can find a detailed steak and cabernet pairing guide with tasting notes and an overview of each cut of beef on our winery blog. Serious Eats has a cool, interactive guide to finding the perfect cut of steak, including recipes.

10 Tips for Pairing Cabernet Sauvignon with Steak:

Grilled New York strip steak pairs well with Cabernet Sauvignon.

Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon pouring into an empty wine glass to pair with a filet or ribeye steak.

  • Red wines with a good backbone of acidity contrast with the texture of rich meats, such as filet and ribeye.

Medium-rare filet mignon ready to be paired with Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon.

Jordan Winery Executive Chef Todd Knoll pouring Plumpjack Cabernet Sauvignon into a glass.

Slices of ribeye on a plate ready to pair with a more fruit-forward, younger cabernets, like 2013 Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon.

Sliced flat-iron steak on a plate awaits pairing with an older cabernet, like 2002 Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon.

  • Older cabernets, which has less tannin, create a food and wine pairing where the wine’s more subtle fruit and spice flavors are elevated by the fat, protein and peppery spice in more flavorful cuts, such as ribeye and flat iron. This makes for a very attractive pairing that can be favored to the equally enjoyable pairing of a younger, more tannic cabernet.

A line-up of balanced cabernet sauvignons, including Jordan and Chateau Pichon Longueville.

  • Balanced cabernets—young and old—with lower alcohol, firm acidity and silky tannin are the safest bets—the most versatile wines with different cuts of steak.

A higher alcohol cabernet sauvignon pouring into a wine glass.

Chargrilling steaks complements the subtle nuances in cabernet that come from its toasted oak barrels.

Steaks on the grill seasoned with pepper help complement the natural, herbaceous and spice notes found in cabernet sauvignon.

  • Seasoning steak with pepper helps complement the natural, herbaceous and spice notes found in cabernet sauvignon. Benjamin Appleby, wine & beverage manager at Abe & Louie’s in Boston, explains it this way: “What makes cabernet sauvignon especially well-suited to steak is the peppery aroma unique to the variety that comes from pyrazines. As cabernet grapes ripen, the character of that pepper evolves along with the tannins and acidity to become, generally, softer. So, my rule of thumb is to pair fruitier, lusher wines with leaner cuts, and more structured, less ripe wines with the juicy steaks that can handle a bit of extra pepper.”

As always, the pleasure of food and wine pairing is subjective, and what’s most important is to drink the wines you love with the people you love for a memorable pairing. Hopefully these tips, however, will you find a new favorite meal for your table. (Hanger Steak and Asparagus Salad is one of my personal favorite recipes for pairing with an elegant cabernet.) And if they leave you hungry for more, pour yourself a glass of cabernet and peruse our detailed cabernet and steak tasting notes from the restaurants, wines and steaks included in this experiment.

What is your favorite steak and wine pairing? Please leave us a comment.

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About the Author

Growing up in Hawaii, Todd Knoll developed a strong connection to the land and the ocean at an early age. As executive chef at Jordan Winery, he grows hundreds of heirloom vegetables, fruits and herbs, cooks hors d’oeuvres and meals for guests, makes olive oil, and tends to the estate’s honeybees and chickens. A visual artist at heart, Chef Knoll spends his free time with his son and wife, Nitsa Knoll, exploring the diverse terrain of Sonoma County with camera and pencil in hand, capturing moments in nature to inspire his next recipe.

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    • Emma Brown
    • March 7, 2018
    Reply

    The wine can be experienced in more rich way when paired with foods. I like roasted food. In last month I paired carbernet sauvignon wine with buffalo slider! And ii was great idea, my friends loved it. It was Assemble slider buns and top burger with grilled onions and crispy bacon. It had crisp onion fried, tomato and the toasted buns with butter were golden color. The taste of ground buffalo seasoned with salt and pepper was just mouth watering and on the top of it had blue cheese to the top of the patty. I had the Napa Valley wine Carbernet Sauvignon to pair with.

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