Surf and turf

Surf and turf

Assuming a steak served with grilled prawns or lobster and garlic butter.

Surf and turf puts steak and shellfish on one plate, and they want different things: beef welcomes tannin, while tannin and oak turn prawns and lobster metallic. The answer sits between them, a wine with body and red fruit but little tannin. A fuller, darker rosé or a light, fresh red does both jobs.

Pairs Perfectly. Bandol rosé, Provence, France. Made mainly from Mourvèdre, a darker, savoury pink with the body for steak and no tannin to catch on the shellfish. Its acidity cuts garlic butter from both halves of the plate.

Pairs Well. Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon. Red cherry, bright acidity and soft tannin, gentle enough for prawns and substantial enough for beef.

Pairs Well. Darker rosado, Navarra, Spain. Garnacha with strawberry and body, and easy on the pocket.

Worth Seeking Out

Listán Negro from the Canary Islands, Spain. A light, peppery red grown on volcanic soil, soft enough for shellfish and savoury enough for steak.

Avoid

Firmly tannic, heavily oaked reds and delicate whites. Tannin and oak turn shellfish metallic, and a delicate white is swamped by the beef.

Failing That

A Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand.

If All Else Fails

Beaujolais Villages.

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