Best Wines for Steak: A No-Nonsense Guide

Steak and red wine. It's the most classic food-and-wine pairing in the world — and also the most vague. Saying "red wine goes with steak" is like saying "shoes go with pants." Technically true. Practically useless.

The truth is that different cuts of steak have wildly different flavors, textures, and fat content — and each one is best with a different wine. Here's the breakdown.

The Quick Cheat Sheet

Let's dig into why each pairing works.

Ribeye: Cabernet Sauvignon

The ribeye is the king of marbling. All that intramuscular fat creates incredible flavor — but it also coats your palate. You need a wine with serious tannin to cut through the richness.

Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley, Bordeaux, or Coonawarra is the classic choice. The firm tannins act like a palate cleanser between bites, and the dark fruit (blackcurrant, black cherry) complements the beefy depth.

Budget pick: A good Cabernet from Paso Robles or Chile's Maipo Valley delivers the same tannin structure at half the price.

Filet Mignon: Pinot Noir

The filet is the opposite of the ribeye — incredibly tender, very lean, with a more subtle flavor. Pair it with a big Cabernet and the wine will overpower the meat.

Instead, reach for Pinot Noir. A good Burgundy or Willamette Valley Pinot has enough body to stand up to the steak, but enough finesse to let the filet's delicate flavor shine. The earthy, mushroomy notes in aged Pinot Noir are especially beautiful here.

Alternative: A soft, plummy Merlot from Pomerol or Washington State works beautifully too.

NY Strip: Malbec

The strip steak sits between the ribeye and the filet — nice marbling, but not excessive. Medium fat, full flavor, a satisfying chew.

Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina is the sweet spot. It has enough tannin to handle the fat, but it's smoother and fruitier than Cabernet. The plum and violet notes in good Malbec are a natural match for grilled beef.

Alternative: A peppery Syrah from the Northern Rhône or Australia adds a spicy dimension that's great with a well-seasoned strip.

Flank and Skirt Steak: Tempranillo

Thin, charred, often marinated — flank and skirt steaks are the weeknight warriors. They're leaner than ribeye and often served with punchy accompaniments (chimichurri, soy-ginger, lime).

Tempranillo (Rioja, Ribera del Duero) has a smoky, earthy character that mirrors the char on a grilled flank steak. Grenache-based blends from the Southern Rhône or Spain are another great match — fruit-forward enough to handle a marinade, but with enough structure for the beef.

The One Rule That Matters

Match the intensity of the wine to the intensity of the steak.

Lean, delicate cut → lighter wine. Fatty, bold cut → bigger wine. It's the weight-matching principle from our wine pairing guide, applied to one specific (and delicious) scenario.

Next time you're at a steakhouse, let PairScan do the math. Scan the menu, tell the app what you're ordering, and get a specific wine recommendation from what's actually on the restaurant's wine list — with prices. No guessing, no Googling under the table.