Steakhouse Wine Lists Are Finding New Companions for Red Meat

steak and wine

Steakhouse wine lists have begun to modernize, says The New York Times. Casting aside cabernet sauvignon and Bordeaux as red meat’s only table mates, restaurants like The Bowery Meat Company, Lincoln Square Steak and Minetta Tavern are featuring increasingly varied lists with a “more intelligent, diverse and satisfying set of selections.”

Some of these lists have actually been around for a few years, but finally a critical mass is starting to follow suit. Wine director of Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse Jessica Certo attributes this shift partly to the changing tastes of the customer that has become more educated and adventurous in wine pursuits.

At The Bowery Meat Company, the list ranges from new-wave California wines to more classic Napa cabernets and everything else in between—from Spain to Italy to lesser-known France. Matthew Krueger, Bowery Meat’s beverage director who constructed the list along with Natalie Tapken, explains their thought process: “As much as we like the big California cabs, sometimes they can overpower steaks. We wanted to balance out the list rather than go as big and bold as we can.” [New York Times][Photo: Flickr/Don LaVange]