The Ultimate Wine Pairing For Savory, Salty Steak Frites

There is some culinary debate over whether or not steak frites is a French dish or a Belgian dish. What's not up for debate is how incredibly satisfying steak frites are with a fine glass of red wine. We talked to Matthew Kreider, executive chef at Steak 954, to get his recommendation on the ultimate wine pairing for savory, salty steak frites. According to Kreider, you can't go wrong with a good bottle of merlot. "I love old-world wines, and I love Saint-Émilion. It's a merlot that just loves food, and you'll want a bottle to help with those salty fries."

A French wine makes a lot of sense for a (debatably) French dish. And Saint-Émilion wine isn't just any wine — it comes from the vineyards of Saint-Émilion, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Saint-Émilion is a medieval wine village that goes back to the Roman times. The Merlot grape makes up two-thirds of the plantings at Saint-Émilion due to its preference for growing in cool soils, which the region has plenty of. 

In general, merlot is a wildly popular wine to pair with meat, which makes it the perfect dinner wine. And when it comes to steak frites, the pairing just sings. A large reason why the earthy, fruity aromas of merlot pair well with steak frites has to do with the Béarnaise sauce drizzled over the steak. This "mother sauce" features white wine vinegar, shallot, and an herbaceous reduction that gets its signature creaminess through egg yolks and butter. Pairing the merlot with steak drenched in this sauce gives you the perfect balance of fat to acid.

The Merlot berries from Saint-Émilion have thin skin and big berries that fit into red fruit flavor profiles. When aged in barrels, the grapes take on woody notes that merge with flavor profiles like strawberry, raspberry, and cherry, adding a light touch of sweetness to the saltiness of the frites and savory notes of the steak. The beautiful thing about merlot is that it can keep you company from dinner through dessert since it pairs well with both.