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No-Fuss Guide · At the table

Wine for churrasco: a red with tannin, and what else works over the coals

For churrasco, Brazilian barbecue, the classic is a red with tannin: Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tannat. The fat in the meat and the grip of the tannin balance each other out in the mouth. But Brazilian churrasco also means sausage, chicken and 35 °C heat: dry rosé, sparkling and even chilled red get a seat at the grill too.

Why a red with tannin goes well with fatty meat

In 2012, researchers at the Monell Center and Rutgers showed in the journal Current Biology that astringency and fattiness sit at opposite ends of the way the mouth feels: sips of a mildly astringent drink between bites of cured meat reduced the fatty sensation. They didn't test wine, but tannin is precisely the thing that grips. One of the authors explains that the mouth wants a middle ground: not too dry, not too slick. And the WSET, the wine school based in London, uses the example of steak: the salt and fat in the meat soften the tannins of a powerful red.

Meat by meat

  • Fatty meat on the grill (picanha, the Brazilian rump cap; beef ribs; flank steak): the tannic red. The government of Mendoza says Malbec's perfect match is Argentine asado, and young, unoaked Malbec goes with grilled meat. Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat, Uruguay's grape, full of tannin, too.
  • Sausage: Decanter suggests Tempranillo, Gamay or Pinot Noir.
  • Chicken: a white with body, like a warm-climate Chardonnay (Decanter), or one with lively acidity, like a Sauvignon Blanc (Wine Folly).
  • Pork: Barbera, Riesling or dry rosé, from the same Decanter list.

A 35 °C day? Chill it

Decanter puts dry rosé and sparkling among the all-rounders for barbecue. Wine Folly tested it on a day of nearly 35 °C: a red straight from the fridge got better, refreshing like iced tea, and sparkling cleans the palate the way beer does. To chill it fast, the bucket with water, ice and salt; the right temperature for each type is in the temperature guide.

What about the salt?

Here the sources disagree, and it's good to know. The WSET says salt softens tannin. Sommelier Nádia Alcalde, in A Gazeta, says the saltier the meat, the less tannin the wine should have, and bets on brut sparkling, well chilled, as a safe choice for any churrasco. Try it both ways: your palate decides.

To start with: the house's wines by price range

The price range the house saw at big stores in Brazil, in the month shown. The price changes; the range tends to stay.

Reds the database marks for red meat

See all the reds for churrasco in the search →

No red: rosé, sparkling and white for meat

See the hot-weather picks in the search →

Everything here is a suggestion, not a law: pairing is a suggestion. Liked it another way? Then you can, and it's great that you found out what you like.

How many bottles? The Festinha does the churrasco math: half a bottle per person who drinks. And what tannin is, no fuss.

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Sources for this page

  • ScienceDaily (Cell Press), on Peyrot des Gachons, Breslin et al., Current Biology (2012): astringency and fattiness at opposite ends — sciencedaily.com
  • Wine Spectator: the secret to pairing is texture (Paul Breslin) — winespectator.com
  • WSET, Four rules to masterful food and wine pairing (2023) — wsetglobal.com
  • WSET, A guide to Easter food & wine pairings (2024): salt softens tannin; Cabernet with lamb — wsetglobal.com
  • Wine Folly: wines for barbecue; protein and fat soften tannin; a high-acid white for chicken — winefolly.com
  • Wine Folly: chilled red on a day of nearly 35 °C; sparkling cleans the palate — winefolly.com
  • Government of Mendoza, 365 Tentaciones program: Malbec with asado and with pasta in ragù — mendoza.gov.ar
  • Decanter (Elie Lloyd Ellis, 2023): barbecue wines, meat by meat, and the all-rounders — decanter.com
  • SAQ (Quebec): Tannat, full-bodied and tannic — saq.com
  • A Gazeta, Nádia Alcalde's column (2022): wine at a churrasco, salt and brut sparkling — agazeta.com.br

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