Not everyone likes turkey for their Thanksgiving meal or other holiday meal. In case you are one of those people, I offer grilled striploin steak paired with BC’s Blasted Church Vineyards Merlot 2021. Let me tell you about the wine first and then the food and wine holiday pairing.
My Wine Tasting Notes
Blasted Church Vineyards Merlot 2021 (BC $34)
Appearance: An opaque, from rim to core, garnet colour.
Nose: Medium-minus intensity, deeply brooding aromas of meat, black pepper, black fruit and oak. Less meaty aroma and more black fruit aroma with decanting.
Palate: Dry, medium-minus body, round and smooth on the palate. Medium-plus intensity flavours of juicy berries, ripe plums, black fruits, and touches of floral, oak, and minerality. Dusty, fine-grained tannins. The aromas are the same after decanting, except you can add a touch of chocolate.
Finish: A medium-plus length finishing with plums and black fruits, lightly drying tannins, pepperiness and a touch of floral flavours. No change in the finish after decanting.
Rating: 
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This is a quality wine that is deeply coloured and has deep aromas of meat, black pepper and black fruit. It has a light tannic backbone, juicy berries and plum fruit flavours. Lighter body, round and smooth mouthfeel.
Striploin Steak Pairing
I tasted the wine undecanted when I paired it with the grilled steak. I marinated the steak for about half a day, then let the steak warm up for about 30 minutes before putting it on the grill. The steak was done a little over medium-well. It was still quite soft in texture. The marinade and salt on the steak matched nicely with the juicy berry and plum flavours of the wine. The texture of the steak was soft so did not need a wine with heavy tannins. This wine has fine-grained tannins, so provides enough backbone to show off the wine and to make the steak even softer to chew. An excellent pairing. Give it a try for your next holiday meal.
Where Can I Buy This Wine?
You can purchase this wine online through the Blasted Church website. It is available at select Everything Wine stores.
