Make Malbec Your Go-To With Lean Red Meat

National Malbec Day is a great time to feature this “workhorse” wine. For me, this is a wine that always gets the job done. It pairs well with food, it’s easy to find and it’s affordable. What more could you ask for?

Malbec is an approachable wine. It has flavors of berries and black cherries, but not a lot of oak. It has medium level acidity and tannins. So while I wouldn’t pair it with a rich ribeye, Malbec is perfectly paired with leaner steaks. (If you’re not sure what kind of steak to order, read this post.)

I recently served Malbec at a dinner party alongside tri-tip steak. Tri-tip comes from the bottom sirloin and it’s a lean cut. Malbec perfectly complemented both the marinated, smoked tri-tip and the grilled one. Don’t be afraid to pair Malbec with other food such as mushrooms, spiced skillet potatoes and more.

Most wine sellers carry at least one variety of Malbec, and you can find reasonably-priced bottles for around $10. The deep purplish-red wine is most famously grown in Argentina, though it began in France. Argentinian Malbec is what we currently serve at Rube’s, but consider trying one of each to taste the differences and find your favorite style.