Raw beef, tartare and carpaccio, flavouring profile

Raw beef, tartare and carpaccio, flavouring profile

Raw beef has no crust and no heat to soften a wine's tannin, so it wants a fresh, light red or a rosé, and the dressing decides which.

The compounds that matter. Raw beef carries iron, which gives a mineral, faintly bloody taste, and glutamate, which makes tannin feel harder and more drying. There is no browning to add sweetness or weight, so a big, oaky red dries the mouth. The dressing brings the rest: capers, cornichons, shallot and mustard in a tartare add salt, acid and heat, while a carpaccio brings bitter rocket, salty parmesan and lemon.

What it demands of a wine. Bright acid to match the capers, mustard or lemon. Low to moderate tannin and modest alcohol, since mustard and chilli both make alcohol burn. Fresh red fruit and a savoury edge rather than jammy ripeness or new oak.

Seek

With a classic French tartare, unoaked Mencía from Bierzo brings red cherry, pepper and sharp acid to meet the capers and mustard, with soft tannin. For a lighter glass, a pale Bandol rosé has more body than most rosé and a savoury, herbal edge. With carpaccio under rocket, parmesan and lemon, Valpolicella from the Veneto brings sour cherry, bright acid and a bitter almond finish that matches the rocket. With raw beef dressed with soy, sesame, chilli or pear, in the Korean or Japanese way, Pinot Noir from Central Otago, New Zealand, has the ripe cherry fruit to meet the sweet and salty dressing and little tannin to clash with the soy.

Avoid

Big, oaky, tannic reds such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Barolo or Barossa Shiraz, which dry the mouth and taste bitter with raw meat. High alcohol wines with mustard or chilli, which turn up the heat. Oaked whites, whose vanilla clashes with capers and lemon.

Three to reach for. For French tartare, Mencía, Bierzo, Spain. For carpaccio, Valpolicella, Veneto, Italy. For raw beef with soy and sesame, Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand.