The Best Wine To Pair With A Classic Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's pie is a classic go-to for fall and winter dinners because of its filling coziness, delicious mix of textures and flavors, its ease of preparation, and is a great way to use up the veggies hanging out in your fridge. The name "shepherd's pie" has been around since the late 19th century, but people were likely feasting on this warming dish long before that. Because it is such a long-standing favorite, we're thinking about ways to elevate a simple shepherd's pie and enjoy it in new ways. One of the best approaches to that is a stellar wine pairing, so the wine and shepherd's pie can mutually highlight each other's flavors. We asked an expert for the best shepherd's pie wine partner. 

"Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon is ideal for classic shepherd's pie because [their] ripe fruit flavors and moderate tannins complement the savory, hearty meat and vegetables of the dish while balancing its richness," says Wissam Baki, executive chef at AMAL in Miami. Baki's recommendation is an example of a professional-level wine-pairing process, considering how texture, intensity, and flavors between the food and the wine will match each other, contrast each other, and balance each other. Wine should bring some acidity and astringency to cut through rich foods and cleanse the palate, and should also be an intensity match, which bolder wines like Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are for hearty shepherd's pie.

Merlot, named for the red grape it is made from, is medium- to full-bodied, so its flavors can stand up to the filling shepherd's pie. It has a medium level of acidity as well as astringency from tannins and finishes dry, meaning it's perfect for tempering the buttery richness of those potatoes and the savoriness of the meat. Its fruit flavors, like plums, cherries, and blackberries, brighten that richness and savoriness up while highlighting the sweet and earthy notes of the vegetables. Other flavors including oak, cedar, vanilla, cloves, and tobacco contribute fragrant complexity to the pie.

Cabernet Sauvignon is named for its red grape, and its best-known growing and producing region is Bordeaux, France. It is also dry-finishing, but leans more full-bodied than Merlot with bolder tannins and acidity to balance that shepherd's pie. Its flavor harmony with the dish will be similar to that of Merlot's, thanks to its notes of baking spices, black currant, and black cherry. Merlot took first place in our Tasting Table wine survey — followed closely behind by Cabernet Sauvignon. It's not hard to imagine Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon and shepherd's pie joining the ranks of the most classic food and wine pairings.