Tere Siga

Tere siga is raw beef served without spicing beyond a side of awaze for dipping — the purest expression of raw meat in the Ethiopian kitchen. Where Kitfo is seasoned throughout and Gored gored carries awaze in the preparation, tere siga presents the beef on its own terms. The fat content depends on the cut, the iron-and-mineral character of raw beef is the primary flavour, and the wine must work with that character without the spice scaffolding the other raw dishes provide.

Pairs Perfectly

Volnay, Cote de Beaune, Burgundy, France — silky tannin, red-fruit transparency, savoury earth, moderate alcohol. The delicacy of raw beef without heavy spicing calls for the precision of a village Burgundy rather than anything with more structural weight, and the savoury-earth character of Volnay engages the iron note in the beef without competing with it.

Pairs Well

Yarra Valley Pinot Noir, Victoria, Australia — red-fruited earth, silky tannin, Burgundian in approach. The structural parallel to Volnay at a more accessible price point, and the savoury earth character brings the same engagement with raw beef.

Trousseau, Jura, France — wild, savoury, slightly spicy, pale and fine-textured. The earthy-savoury character is precise for raw meat and the high acid and light tannin suit the clean, unspiced beef without overwhelming it.

Worth Seeking Out

Poulsard from the Jura, France, where the almost orange-wine-adjacent paleness, high acid, and ethereal texture bring a precision for unadorned raw beef that heavier reds cannot approach.

Avoid

Tannic reds above 13.5% ABV — without spice to mediate, high tannin and raw beef produce a harsh metallic note. Aromatic whites overwhelm a dish this unadorned.

Failing That

A Spätburgunder, Ahr, Germany.

If All Else Fails

A Pinot Noir from Central Otago, New Zealand.

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