In the case of a basic beef dish, such as a grilled steak, your choices are plentiful. You're basically looking for a wine that is big enough to keep up with the beef's full flavor and has enough tannin to balance the fats in the beef. 



Great choices for a great wine to go with steak include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Red Bordeaux, Shiraz, and Zinfandel. The Zin or Shiraz are especially appropriate when the dish has some spice to it such as a pepper steak.