2018 Los Amigos Merlot + Steak

Grilled Steak & Merlot

/ Mike's Kitchen, State of the Street / By

This month we at Taft Street will release our first single vineyard Merlot – the 2018 Los Amigos Vineyard, Chalk Hill, Russian River Valley. We had a staff tasting a few weeks ago to get any final pre-release reactions to the wine. Above the usual and expected ooh’s and aah’s was the recognition that the wine was a natural fit with grilled steak. I volunteered to test that theory, and I am happy I did. Try this, you can’t go wrong.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 10-12 ounce steaks of choice
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Take steaks out of fridge 30 minutes before cooking and let sit covered at room temperature.
  2. Set grill to high. Brush steaks with olive oil and liberally sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  3. Grill 4 minutes, flip and grill 3 minutes, flip for another minute to achieve cross sear. Internal temperature should be 125 for medium rare.
  4. Take off grill and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Serve with favorite side dishes and a bottle of Taft Street 2018 Los Amigos Vineyard, Chalk Hill, Russian River Valley Merlot.

Serves 4