Six grape varieties capable of powering brilliant wines to drink with beef:
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Shiraz / Syrah
- Malbec
- Garnacha / Grenache
- Saperavi
- Viura (white Rioja)
It’s hard to beat the comfort of a roast beef lunch or well-cooked steak accompanied by a delicious bottle of red wine, and the appeal only grows as the outside temperature plunges.
Many fuller-bodied red wines are great options for pairing with beef, especially if you’re planning a hearty roast for the Christmas dinner table.
Classic choices include Cabernet Sauvignon and related red blends, such as from Bordeaux, California’s Napa Valley or Western Australia’s Margaret River, as well as Syrah / Shiraz and Malbec wines.
Balance is always key in a great wine, but more intense dishes can generally handle bolder reds that marry luscious fruit and well-integrated tannins – ideally enlivened by a streak of refreshing acidity.
Yet, there many cuts of beef and even more wine styles in the world. Added to which, experimenting is part of the fun and personal preference is always crucial when it comes to food and wine pairing.
Four things to consider when pairing wines with beef:
- Cut
- Age
- Cooking time
- Accompaniments, including sauces
Expert view: matching the intensity
‘I always think about the intensity of the dish matching with the intensity of the wine,’ said Sinéad McCarthy, group wine manager for the award-winning Hawksmoor steakhouse restaurants.
Sínead McCarthy, group wine manager at Hawksmoor, and co-owner of Fíon Eile wine shop and bar in Dublin. Image credit: Courtesy of Sínead McCarthy / Hawksmoor.
‘I’m also thinking about the sauce, as well, which is something people forget.
‘So when you’ve got that really rich gravy with the roast beef, you just want [a wine] that has a bit of muscle to stand up to it,’ said McCarthy, who also co-owns Fíon Eile wine shop and bar in Dublin, Ireland.
She suggested ‘New World’ Cabernet Sauvignon, such as from South Africa, and also Malbec as classic choices, but added, ‘Something I’ve been really loving lately is Saperavi from Georgia.’
Many wines’ concentration and oak profile can work really well with intense beef gravies, she noted.
More than one way to cut it
McCarthy said the cut and ageing profile of beef or steak is a key consideration when thinking about a wine to uncork.
Cooking time can have an impact; a medium-to-well-done steak might stand up to a wine with more tannic structure.
‘But, for me, I’m always thinking about how much fat is in the beef – so what cut is it, and then how long has been dry-aged?,’ McCarthy said.
A fillet dry-aged for a relatively short period of time can work well with a lighter, more elegant style of red. ‘Whereas, those 35-day, even 45-day dry-aged meats have got such intense flavour that your need to match that with the wine.’
There are many possibilities. ‘I’m really loving Grenache and Garnacha at the moment,’ said McCarthy, suggesting these wines as great pairings for Chateaubriand with relatively low dry-ageing.
She highlighted Garnachas from Spain’s mountainous Sierra de Gredos, west of Madrid, and also Grenache from South Australia’s McLaren Vale. ‘They’ve still got lovely concentration of fruit, but these really lovely fine tannins and kind of an elegant red-fruited flavour profile.’
In terms of fresher takes on classic styles, South American wine expert Patricio Tapia, editor of the annual Guida Descorchados, also previously recommended Argentina’s higher-altitude Malbecs with steak.
Meanwhile, bolder red wines for beef with longer dry-ageing may take drinkers to southern Italy. ‘Puglia has been really popular for us lately, [such as] Negroamaros, Primitivos,’ said McCarthy.
Zinfandel, prominent in California, has been established as near-exact genetic match with Primitivo.
Alternatively, if you are lucky enough to have access, McCarthy said an earthy-yet-elegant, mature Pinot Noir may pair well with gamey flavours in a long-dry-aged cut of beef.
Another option previously recommended by Decanter is Nebbiolo-powered Barolo or Barbaresco, in which relatively bold tannins have softened over time to fuse with a complex array of red fruit, acidity and subtle sweet spice.
Can you pair white wine with beef?
It’s totally possible to pair some fuller-bodied white wines with beef, despite this being widely considered a serious faux-pas.
Richly textured orange wines, benefiting from extended contact with grape skins, are also worth exploring. ‘A really good beef tartare with an orange wine can be amazing,’ said McCarthy.
Matthieu Longuère MS, wine development manager at Le Cordon Bleu London culinary school, previously wrote a Decanter article on pairing red meat with white wine.
White Rioja featured strongly, and McCarthy also name-checked the style. Hawksmoor’s Dublin restaurant features Bodegas Bhilar’s ‘Phinca Hapa’, technically a white Rioja but listed as an orange wine.
‘It’s a white Rioja but it has long lees ageing and long skin contact,’ explained McCarthy. ‘It’s just delicious. It’s one of those orange wines that you almost need a knife and fork [for].’
In general, look for highly phenolic white wines with some lees ageing. ‘If you have some skin contact, as well, I think that really helps,’ said McCarthy, suggesting trying this with a dry-aged rib-eye.
For a fillet, a top dry Riesling with some lees ageing could be a winner. ‘Those wines can be really rich in texture, as well,’ McCarthy noted.
Alternatively, look to barrel-aged Chardonnay or Viognier for complex white wines with the heft to pair well with beef – as noted in Decanter’s Festive Wine Guide for 2025.
In the end, food and wine pairing is also about the situation.
McCarthy advised to ‘try not to overthink it’, also adding that a delicious wine, with an interesting story, that everyone around the table enjoys can be just as good as finding the absolute perfect pairing.
‘And then it all comes back to the overall dominating flavour of the dish and thinking about that with the wine rather than every single element on the plate.’
Tasting notes: Inspiration for pairing wine with beef this Christmas
All wines featured below have been reviewed by Decanter experts and offer a range of price-points, including top UK high-street picks featured in Decanter’s Festive Wine Guide.
