A Meaty Set Of California Wines

There are some wines that when I taste them, the first thought that comes to my mind is steak. Cooked to medium rare, dripping with blood and meaty juice I can’t think of anything better to pair with a big red wine and when I tried a set of Napa Valley wines recently my only thought was Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse – which was ironic as the wines themselves are on the Ruth’s Chris wine list in the States!

I am a huge fan of eating steak and drinking red wine, sure, I know it is not good for the skin but who cares…you only live once and when you have access to all kinds of beef as we do these days, why not indulge in the things you love? Hong Kong has a wealth of beef from all over the world these days (Australia, Britain, Argentina and the USA being the countries of preference) and all cuts are available. The same is true of wine but I believe there are two varietals that go best with beef – Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec.

For the sake of this story I am concentrating on Napa and Sonoma Valley Bordeaux blends and, oddly enough Syrah. American wines are some of the best in the world in my opinion and the quality coming out of California in recent years has been bordering on exceptional. Hong Kong’s wine suppliers have really got to grips with what drinkers in this city want and less of the bad stuff and more of the good stuff is hitting our shores each year.

Let me introduce you to two wineries and three wines that I think go really well with steak. How do I know this? Well, because I cooked up a few steaks and had the wines! Firstly, Eponymous, a winery owned by Bob Pepi that makes a wonderfully big and bold Bordeaux blend from his MacAllister vineyards in both Napa and Sonoma. The wine is a blend of Cabernet, Cabernet Franc and Merlot and is a ripper! Made from the vineyards on the slopes of Mount Veeder – one of the best places in Napa in my opinion – it has 20 months on oak (mainly French with a little American) and is one that immediately makes you think of food (and in this case, steak) as soon as it hits the palate. It’s big yes, but it’s also refined with complexity, has a great finish and overall, a great example of a Bordeaux blend from Cali.

 

Bob also makes an Eponymous Syrah (which I drank last night!) that is a stunning wine. It’s smooth and, although it can be drunk alone, stood up very well to the Argentine Tenderloin I cooked last night. It has 50/50 French and American oak aging, which probably accounts for the smooth texture and slightly vanilla finish to the wine but overall, this is a great wine – especially so because, as I mentioned, it does not necessarily need food.

My final beef wine comes again from Napa Valley and is made at the Roberts + Rogers winery on Howell Mountain who themselves too plant Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The wine is rich and ripe and definitely a food wine but has some endearing minerality to it (because of the volcanic soils on the mountain). I think this is a great wine and would gladly (and probably sensibly) store it in the cellar for a few more years –even though this is the 2004 vintage. Wines like this go so well with red meat, it’s a shame not to give the perfect pairing a go.

Whenever you read the back labels of bottles these day the generic notes tell you that this wine goes with red meat. I think we all know this by now and so I think that wineries should get more creative and say what red meat and how cooked or served. These wines, Eponymous and Roberts + Rogers are most certainly wines that go with a nice Aussie Sirloin, American T-Bone or an Argentine Tenderloin. Next time you get the chance, pick up a bottle of these wines and head to your local store and pick up a decent cut of meat. Then cook it for a loved one and enjoy the magical pairing of beef and wine together.

Eponymous and Roberts + Rogers are available in Hong Kong from Open 3 Wines and you can check out their selections at www.open3wines.com . Contact Alexis Bell on alexis.bell@open3wines.com  for more information.