Pastrami and salt beef

Pastrami and salt beef

Assuming brined, spiced beef sliced onto rye with mustard and pickles.

Pastrami and salt beef bring salt, black pepper, coriander and fat all at once, and pastrami adds smoke. The salt softens tannin, so a red with some grip is welcome, but it needs peppery fruit and fresh acidity for the mustard and pickles. Very oaky, sweet reds clash with the smoke and spice.

Pairs Perfectly. Zinfandel, California, USA. Ripe bramble fruit and a peppery, spicy edge that echoes the seasoning, with enough body for the fat and tannin soft enough for the salt. It is a natural partner to a deli sandwich and good value.

Pairs Well. Syrah, Washington State, USA. Black pepper and dark fruit on fresh acidity, a direct match for the peppered crust of pastrami.

Pairs Well. Unoaked Mencía, Bierzo, Spain. Violet, slate and pepper with bright acidity, which cuts the mustard and the fat.

Worth Seeking Out

Teroldego from Trentino, Italy. Dark fruited, fresh and gently spiced, with the acidity for pickles and the depth for smoked beef.

Avoid

Heavily oaked, sweet, high alcohol reds and delicate whites. Oak and jammy fruit clash with smoke and pickles, and a light white is flattened by the spice.

Failing That

A Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Italy.

If All Else Fails

Rioja Crianza, Spain.

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