Wine Pairing for Beef Pho

Hi All,

Several friends are hosting a casual dinner tonight, with Beef Pho being the main dish. I am wondering if anyone would have successful wine pairings for this dish.

I was thinking a medium bodied Pinot Noir (Rhys Anderson Valley, or Rivers-Marie Sonoma Coast), or Merlot? Also was thinking about bringing a Sauvignon Blanc along to sip while cooking.

Any recommendations would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Chris

Personally I don’t think wine goes well with hot soup. Might just be my preference. I would choose a beer…possibly a crisp Czech pilsner or lighter-bodied Belgian.

Thanks! I didn’t even consider beer, but that is a good point.

I might consider some Gamay/Valdiguie with a chill on it, or perhaps Lambrusco.

No wine as stated above. Beer or tea

Pretty much anything you want. Just watch the heat/spice level for certain red wines.

I concur beer is probably the best match but I made a homemade batch of beef stock and made pho Thursday and matched it with a young white rhone and it went really well. I would fight the urge to do a red with beef pho and go white. White is a better match for spice and heat IMO. Let us know what you did and how it was.

dry Riesling or a crisp light white wine would work (off-dry if spicy), though beer is better.

If it has to be wine…A yeasty sparkling wine.

The young white Rhone was a great call by Greg!

+1

Hot tea seems to be the go to beverage at most of the Philly joints. I’ll sometimes have a coke for the hot/cold contrast…sweet and savory and a squeeze of lime in the coke. Although I don’t believe wine is the right choice…I’ll guess Bugey Cerdon, since it’s slightly sweet, cold and bubbly to contrast with the dish.

RT

Wine and pho sounds quite ew.

+1

I’ll go against the grain and say I drink wine with pho (and other hot soups- bouillabaisse with rose, wild mushroom soup with Bourgogne, Riesling with tom yung goon, etc). Right now I’m having mackerel poached in dashi with daikon/spinach greens and udon - a 2001 Leitz Riesling SpatTrock goes fine, as does a Cleto Chiarli lambrusco I had opened this afternoon for friends.
My favorite pho is a tripe/tendon/beef , and I think it goes well with rose or dry (but not austere) Riesling. If you really need to go red I’d go light and not tannic.
Beer is fine, but if you prefer to drink wine (or have more wine in your cellar than you will drink in a lifetime) have fun. I don’t generally serve hot soups at wine dinners, it’s not the ideal, but it’s far from impossible.

• I miss the bouillabaisse I used to get in NYC. The SF equivalent - cioppino - never quite seems the same.

Mushroom soups are good with leathery, saddley, sweaty Italian wines.

Pho might be better with a big cold Asian beer, but riesling might work too. Personally, I like pho ga better. Great when you’re having the sniffles!

My go to comfort food, an ice cold tall Sapporo does it for me.

I’d drink sparkling sake with Pho too, along with my other two suggestions above, especially with beef as it’s so much richer and fattier broth.