Which wine to pair and cook a beef burgundy ?

Popular dish during winter, beef Burgundy is a comfort concentrate when the cold knocks on your door. It is also a perfect example of a sharing dish, a good reason therefore to uncork a bottle with your guests ! Traditional recipe, this stew of beef simmered in wine requires a few rules as to which wine to use for cooking and which to serve at the table to taste it.

A story of wine and meat

Traditional Sunday meals, beef Burgundy has its origins in Burgundy in the Middle Ages, region renowned for its vineyards and cattle breeding. Also known as "beef stew", this dish is a kind of stew made with beef and wine. It was only with time that it was decided to call it "boeuf bourguignon" to highlight the wealth of its region of origin on an international level..

Burgundy is a region obviously renowned for its vineyard and the high quality of its red wines.. The food of this region is traditionally rustic with generous and tasty dishes. Today, boeuf bourguignon is served in brasseries as well as on family Sunday tables.

What wine to cook beef bourguignon ?

Many will tell you that a beef bourguignon is obviously prepared like a regional pairing : it would therefore be cooked with Charolais meat and red wine from Burgundy. Without going so far as to uncork a Grand Cru for cooking, a Passe-Tout-Grain or a Côte-d´Auxerre would do just fine…

From my experience, I ended up completely forgetting about using Pinot Noir to prepare this dish. Indeed, this grape has fine and very volatile aromas which eventually fade completely during cooking. Prefer a Syrah varietal wine instead, like those of the Rhône Valley. More structured than those of Burgundy, these wines will be more suitable for a long cooking of your meat. This grape variety, with less volatile aromas, develops notes of spices such as pepper, more suited to the preparation of beef bourguignon.

Choose a medium tannic wine with fruity and spicy notes., which will permeate the meat without risking to mask its taste. For the tightest budgets, you can look in the wines of Ardèche. You will find quality wines there / very interesting price. Be careful however with the grape varieties of the wine you select, we can find Ardèche wines made from Gamay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and obviously Syrah. For a slightly higher budget, you can go to Vinsobres or Côtes du Rhône appellations. As we often say in the kitchen : "It's with good products, that we make good food "... so please, forget your first price wines !

what wine to serve with a boeuf bourguignon ?

The best answer I can give you is to offer the same wine as that used for cooking. – Good luck to those who have not listened to me earlier and still put on cheap wine ! –

Failing that, or to offer a more qualitative wine, look for a wine with the same attributes as the one used for cooking.

Just like for cooking, you could favor the regional pairing with a Pinot Noir from Burgundy to enhance your dish. However, not all Burgundy wines are created equal for this food and wine pairing. Burgundy beef demands a wine with a beautiful presence in the mouth. A fresh frame and fine tannins will do wonders to enhance this dish. The “villages” appellations are generally quite affordable and offer great potential. : Beaune, Givry, Mercurey, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Gevrey… The possibilities are numerous !

Other regions than Burgundy offer great possibilities with the same grape variety. Often fresher and lighter, a Pinot Noir from Alsace or a Coteau Champenois are very interesting alternatives. For a wine with a more sustained tannic structure, know that the Languedoc-Roussillon contains some beautiful Pinot Noir wines.

What more powerful wine to drink with this dish ?

If you have been more reckless with cooking in Rhone wine, stay in this wine region when choosing your wine to pair your beef bourguignon. Focus your research on wines with a beautiful frame in the mouth so that it expresses itself fully in front of your dish. A concentrated and slightly powerful wine will be ideal to emphasize the slight sweetness brought by the carrots..

Choose appellations such as Châteauneuf-du-Pape, a Crozes-Hermitage, a Lirac or even a Côte-Rôtie. Don't forget that Syrah is a grape variety that is also present in other wine regions such as Languedoc-Roussillon for example. So you can easily choose a wine in this region if you feel like it. Let yourself be guided by your wine merchant, but don't go on wines that are too powerful and can crush the flavour of your dish.