German Pinot Noir: Yes, you should know about it!

And yes it pairs well with steak (plus a super umami butter)!

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I am sure that Pinot Noir might not jump to a lot of folks' minds for a steak pairing – much less Pinot Noir from Germany – but I am here today to set the record straight on both as definite musts! I recently centered a steak dinner I had been craving around the lovely German Pinot Noir (pictured above) from Koehler-Ruprecht. Keep reading to learn more about their story and about the hanger steak with super umami butter that stole my heart. But first let’s nerd out a bit about Pinot Noir aka Spatburgunder in Germany!

So yes, I LOVE Pinot Noir with steak! Stereotypically folks will reach for a bigger red to pair with hearty meats, and Pinot Noir does not fall into that camp (most of the time). Pinot Noir is a thin skinned grape, which equals less tannins in your glass, and tannins give us that feeling of a wine being “bigger” as they dry our mouths out. Pinot Noir tends towards more moderate alcohol levels,which also leads to a “lighter” feeling in the mouth. But an inverse attribute to the lower alcohol happens to be great acidity! And this acidity is one of the reasons I love Pinot Noir with steak. The acidity cuts right through all that richness! And of course, in the right place and in the right hands Pinot Noir can have A LOT going on! Hence, its reputation as one of the MOST noble red wine grapes.

Pinot Noir hails from Burgundy, France, where it achieves undeniable greatness along the limestone slopes that have been farmed for hundreds of years on specific sites that have been well documented for just as long. And really Germany is not that far from Burgundy. So, it’s not a big surprise that it arrived in Germany as far back as 884. However, it certainly never achieved the lauded status of Germany’s star white grape – Riesling! This is also not a big surprise given Germany’s mostly cooler climate due its northern location (a lot of German wine regions reside around the 50th latitude line; historically best grape growing has been between the 30th and 50th with the 50th being the northern limit!). While Pinot Noir does not require the extra lengthy ripening time on the vine that thick skinned grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon does, it still needs time to properly ripen and the sunshine to do so. And in fact this lack of ripeness and production of lesser quality Pinot Noir in the 20th century most likely led to this hilarious quote from wine writer Robert Parker that I found on the Guild Somm website (a great resource for thoroughly nerding out; some of their content requires a membership but not all of it!). 

“German Pinot Noir is a grotesque and ghastly wine that tastes akin to a defective, sweet, faded, diluted red Burgundy from an incompetent producer.” Robert Parker, 2002

Ha! I am sure that the handful of German winemakers who have long been devoted to making great Pinot Noir LOVE this quote. Of course, our warming climate certainly benefits Germany in its previous struggle to properly ripen all grapes, but especially Pinot Noir. There has also been a growing interest and further education amongst German winemakers who are devoted to Pinot Noir. And then there are those who have been at it for a long time…enter Koehler-Ruprecht…

This winery located in the Pfalz region of Germany has existed since the 1700s, but it was a gentleman by the name of Bernd Phillipi who elevated it to greatness over the past 40 years. Bernd was inspired by his grandfather to take a holistic approach to grape growing and winemaking – meaning no herbicides in the vineyards and minimal intervention in the cellar. Today, those duties are in the hands of Dominik Son and Franziska Schmitt who have not changed a thing. 

The winery’s location in Pfalz certainly helps their goal of perfect ripeness levels for all grapes (they also make terrific dry Riesling, Pinot Blanc, and even a Chardonnay!). The Pfalz is one of the warmer regions of Germany and thus suited for Pinot Noir. However, the region that is most known for Pinot Noir production is the tiny region of the Ahr, which happens to be much further north but has steep slopes that can provide plenty of sun exposure to ripen Pinot Noir. It is here you will find one of Germany’s most noted Pinot Noir producers, Meyer-Nakel, which you should also seek out.

But back to the wine in our proverbial glass – the Koehler-Ruprecht Pinot Noir is a shimmery, aromatic delight this vintage. I have been lucky enough to have it over several vintages, and it always boasts tantalizing red fruit on the nose and palate, but this year seems even more alluring than ever. It’s perhaps a lighter vintage, but of course that means all that mouth watering acidity I mentioned earlier, which is just what I wanted to pair with a grilled hanger steak topped with this umami butter I keep mentioning. So prepare yourself, and I apologize to any anchovy haters, but it’s anchovies that are mashed with softened butter and then spooned atop the steak. I discovered this magic in one of my favorite daydreamy cookbooks –  Lulu’s Provencal Table – which captures the life and cooking of the iconic winemaking family, the Tempiers, in southern France. Trust me, if you love cookbooks you need this book! 

But back to the butter…I had long been intrigued by this easy but powerful trick up the sleeve and truly picked out this wine to go with. I thought the electric brightness of the Koehler-Ruprecht could handle the richness of the steak AND the butter, and I was right! If you are not a meat eater I can imagine this same butter working well on roasted winter veggies served over faro alongside this wine. 

Bottom line is you need some German Pinot Noir in your life! Many (including Koehler-Ruprecht retail for around $30). Head out to your local bottle shop and see what’s available. Or if you live in a wine desert I do see a couple of online options!

P.S. For the butter, the cookbook recommends mashing 4 salted anchovies with 8 tablespoons of butter for a 2 pound hanger steak. I went ahead and used this ratio for a smaller steak and just saved the rest for other uses. I also used a slightly different method where I cooked the anchovies in the butter for a few minutes in a small skillet and then mashed them up in that skillet before using the melted butter as light garnish on the steak. (I emphasize light garnish as a little bit goes a long way since it’s a super umami bomb!) (And I found my potato masher worked great on the anchovies!)