Why do meat go well with red wine?

Question

I know they go well together, but why?

Answer 1

Several reasons: tannins, flavor weight and flavor compliments and the main 3.

Tannins, which you get in red wines, have a direct impact on the fats in steaks and other meats, and this is the effect wine drinkers are looking for. The meat changes the flavor of the wine and the wine changes the flavor and feel of the meat. It's also why tons of meat marinades use big red wines as their base.

The "weight" of a wine is its ability to stand up to the flavor of the food, sauces and gravies. Drink a subtle white wine with a big, juicy steak and it simply gets lost. Drink a big Cab Sav or Merlot with a steak + sauce and you can actually taste it. Is it good that you can taste it? Depends on the wine and steak. The counter to this is very spicy foods. It's recommended that you use a very sweet white to offset the flavors, since most reds can't really hold up to them.

Complimentary flavors are those that go well together. Big reds don't do well with certain fruits like watermelon. There's a clash of flavors and acids. Berries and reds work, melons and whites sometimes work, dark chocolate and merlot, etc. This can be very subjective, so most wine pairing experts look for common linkages, things that most people find pleasurable.

In the end, it can be very, very subjective. There can be a wide range of flavors in a type of grape (Merlot from Napa vs. Merlot from Argentina, for example) and vast differences in how you prepare steak or fish. Add a chutney or salsa topping to fish and what do you pair it with? A gentle white gets lost, a big red doesn't really compliment the fish.

Answer 2

Meats go well with red French Bordeaux regions wines because they compliment each other.  Meats have fat content and red French Bordeaux counter the fat taste.  That's why you drink French Bordeaux wines with cheese.

Doesn't work as well with any other countries' wine.

Try the French wine Mouton Cadet at Trader Joe's $6.99/bottle (cheaper than most domestic).

Answer 3

They DON'T go well together necessarily. Depends on the type of meat and the type of wine. They have to have complementary flavours. You can actually study pairings and there is certainly not enough space or time here to attempt it.

Answer 4

Drink a cap and eat a pepper crusted filet with a brandy cream sauce and garlic mash potatoes. You are welcome.

Answer 5

Pooh. The myth about red with meat and white with fish is just that. Myth. Every single solitary wine expert will tell you that you should match food with wine totally by what YOU like, to heck with "rules". Just as an example, some fish are made with red wine sauce and some meats with white wine sauce. So it follows that some white wines will be good with meat and red with fish.