Braised short rib

Braised short rib

Assuming beef short rib browned and then braised slowly in red wine and stock until it falls off the bone, with the sauce reduced over it.

This plate pulls in two directions at once. The fat and the collagen want tannin, which binds to them and keeps the palate clean. But a long reduction is intensely savoury, and that savouriness sharpens young tannin until it tastes metallic and hollow. The answer is structure that has already softened, and a wine that is savoury itself rather than bright with fruit.

Pairs Perfectly. Rioja Reserva, Spain. Reserva means years in barrel and years in bottle before release, so the tannin arrives already resolved and the wine has developed leather, tobacco and dried fig: the same register as the braise. The American oak adds a vanilla and dill note that meets the browned crust, and it costs a fraction of what that much age usually does.

Pairs Well. Crozes-Hermitage, northern Rhône, France. Syrah with black pepper, olive and a savoury, almost bacon like edge that runs into the reduced sauce. The most affordable serious Syrah in France.

Pairs Well. Douro red blend, Portugal. The grapes that make Port, fermented dry: dark, figgy and slate driven with firm but ripe tannin. Built for rich meat and priced well below its quality.

Worth Seeking Out

Mavrud from the Thracian Valley, Bulgaria. An old Bulgarian grape that all but disappeared under state winemaking and is now being taken seriously again. Dark, spiced and herbal with real grip, and it handles a long braise as though it were designed for one.

Age note. A Rioja with ten years behind it changes this pairing rather than simply improving it: the leather and dried fig that come with age mirror the braise in a way a young bottle cannot reach.

Avoid

Young, firmly tannic reds full of fresh fruit. The savoury depth of the braise makes that tannin taste metallic and flattens the fruit at the same time.

Failing That

A Côtes du Rhône Villages, France.

If All Else Fails

Malbec, Mendoza.

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