Would you pair Port with steak?

[Brian G r a f s t r o m]

Why or why not?

[Andy Velebil]

Yes, I eat/drink the combo all the time...and will be doing so at a BBQ tonight at my house. That said, a younger Vintage Port or Late Bottle Vintage Port pairs best with a steak. The bigger fruit and more aggressive tannins pair nicely. An older Port which is more delicate and silky doesn't pair nearly as well IMO.

I'm not a big fan of Tawny (wood-aged) Ports and steak. The combo just doesn't work for me near as well as a younger VP/LBV.

[Glenn E.]

+1

Andy said it all. Steak us great with Port, but pairs best with a young VP or LBV.

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[Moses Botbol]

Can't say I am drinking port and steak together, but would go along with Andy's picks.

[Monique Heinemans.]

I never had port with a steak, just never thought of it as it seemed to be to sweet to me to pair with meat, however I do like f.i. an Amarone for its sweetness with lamb or deer when the sauce is made with honey and/or port. But maybe I should try a port ones.

[Jeff G.]

i will attest that the taylor 63, 66 and 67 made a great pairing with steak.

i find the key is to have enough salt and pepper to accentuate the flavors of the beef and the wine.

[Rob C.]

Mid-late 90s Vesuvios (95 and 96 in particular) currently make for a very nice pairing with steak in my opinion. But i would generally prefer a nice red wine with my steak (unless at a port tasting)

[Todd Pettinger]

I am soooo relieved that I am not the only one who has tried this pairing... I thought I might be weird.

I recently had a free-range, grass-fed cow butchered and split between a few good friends. While the meat was a bit on the green-looking side, the taste was wonderful, especially when seasoned appropriately and a 2005 Talyor LBV was used to wash it down. The LBV was a strong, sweet tannic mix that stood up to the tangy-ness (sp?) of the meat and seasoning. Initially, I had doubts that the LBV would work with the steak, so I had a stronger Aussie Shiraz standing by in case the LBV had to be relegated to dessert duty, but never did open the Shiraz.

[Eric Menchen]

There are other things I'd pair first, like duck breast, lamb, beef Wellington, oven roasted tenderloin with a green peppercorn Port reduction ... but steak can work too. Like others said, I think it works best with a young strong tannic ruby.

[Rob C.]

There are other things I'd pair first, like duck breast, lamb, beef Wellington, oven roasted tenderloin with a green peppercorn Port reduction ...

After much skepticism on this side of the Atlantic, i took up Jeff G.'s suggestion to try with Sichuan chinese (vesuvio 98 with the spicey, saucey/oily dishes and a 10yr tawny with salty/spicey dry dishes) and was mightily impressed.

(admittedly less than enamoured with his "crispy pork intestine" suggestion though....!)

[Jeff G.]

There are other things I'd pair first, like duck breast, lamb, beef Wellington, oven roasted tenderloin with a green peppercorn Port reduction ...

After much skepticism on this side of the Atlantic, i took up Jeff G.'s suggestion to try with Sichuan chinese (vesuvio 98 with the spicey, saucey/oily dishes and a 10yr tawny with salty/spicey dry dishes) and was mightily impressed.

(admittedly less than enamoured with his "crispy pork intestine" suggestion though....!)

most excellent.

come on this side of the pond and we'll do a proper pairing

[Brian G r a f s t r o m]

Thank you for all the helpful replies, folks!

[Phyllis D]

Not only would I pair Port with steak, but I would also shave a nice bit of black truffle on the steak for that nice earthy smoky punch that goes oh so well with port.

The food consumption would only be done with the second pour, as the first one for me is all about the wine.

[Andy Velebil]

Not only would I pair Port with steak, but I would also shave a nice bit of black truffle on the steak for that nice earthy smoky punch that goes oh so well with port.

The food consumption would only be done with the second pour, as the first one for me is all about the wine.

That sounds really good!

[Paul Fountain]

Personally I wouldn't pair port with Steak, but I could understand how it could work reasonably well, given a drier style of young lbv or vintage port.
When I cook steak I season both sides with pepper and salt and marinate in olive oil for a few hours, which results in a fairly savory crust, and I would find the underlying sweetness of the port a distraction from the savoriness of the crust. Besides, I own more than enough red wine for the job!
The other reason is that I generally drink port without accompaniment, and I mostly don't want anything to distract me from the port

[Roy Hersh]

I would rather have Burg/Pinot Noir or CA Cab or Bdx, even a Zin with my steak. That being said, I've had lots of people do steak dinners for me and served me VP and LBV's with it. I've only done it a couple of times at home and my wife who loves Port, finds it too sweet ... so we stick to non-fortified wine except for reductions (at home).

I must say, when grilled medium rare and having either rubbed or cracked black peppercorns to adorn the beef, I have liked it in the past. I certainly understand why some love this pairing and others find it too sweet. The nuances of Vintage Port get lost (for me) and the tannins really dumbed down by the fat in a great steak, but I have found LBV to work nicely. I have not done this in the past two or three years, but after many tries ... all I can say is: if you love Port, you owe it to yourself to try this experiment for yourself.

I have not had truffles with my steak and Port, as mentioned by Phyllis -- but since we get a ton of Morels and Chanterelles here, I've had several renditions with those specific mushrooms and also Portobella mushrooms (or "beautiful Port" mushrooms) but of the 3, I prefer the Morels for that earthy nuance Phyllis mentioned, which really sets off Port or many red wines.

Have any of you tried a 10 or 20 year Tawny with your steak? If so ... what was your impression?

[Phyllis D]

... I prefer the Morels for that earthy nuance ...

yummy Morels! They go so well with steak and BIG reds.

Anything that goes well with Truffles would go well with Morels!

(need a drooling emoticon)