CorkRules - Episodes | Gordon Ramsay Steak - Paris Las Vegas Gordon Ramsay Steak

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About this Episode

Maria Valetta, certified sommelier, and Robert Tas explore the wine list at Gordon Ramsey Steak where they find cuts of prime beef aged to perfection under a program directed by the fiery, internationally-renowned chef and his culinary team. This is a posh Las Vegas steakhouse and it has a rather posh wine list to ensure perfect pairings and much enjoyment. Maria navigates the terrain and discovers the best bottles on the list, including little-known stellar sparkling wines, super zippy sauvignon blancs, and Californian mountain juice.

Wines reviewed include:

Contadi Castaldi Franciacorta Rose
Smith & Sheth "Cru" Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, NZ
The Gargiulo Vineyards “G Major” 7 Oakville

Transcript: Gordon Ramsay Steak

Gordon Ramsey Steak Las Vegas - Paris Hotel and casino

Robert Tas (RT): Hello and welcome back to CorkRules! The wine podcast that’s here to help YOU navigate all your favorite restaurant wine lists so you can learn to order wine with confidence.

I’m Robert Tas, along with Maria Valetta, certified sommelier, also known as Maria The Wine Blonde. Welcome back Maria

MV: Hello Robert!

RT: Today we are talking about Gordon Ramsey Steak in Las Vegas. Located in the Paris Hotel and Casino you’ll find that this vibrant and colorful two-story dining room has as much personality as the fiery famous chef himself. Be sure to look at the ceiling; every part of this space has a wow factor surprise! On the menu, you can expect fine cuts of prime-aged beef and a rich array of shellfish favorites. The tasting menu really amps things up with a bit of English flair. Maria, can the Hell’s Kitchen TV star dish out a wine list as good as his food?

MV: Well Robert I think SO! I like that this list has all these famous wine quotes sporadically located throughout the menu. I also like the selection of half bottles. So many restaurants leave these off the list, but I like having a half-bottle option. They of course have the mandatory Vegas-style large-format offerings, and then go on to showcase wines from the US, France, Spain, Australia, and even south America. Well-rounded honestly

RT: Any wines from England?

MV: Sadly No, BUT with how things are going, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some English wines on menu soon. The English sparkling wines are awesome… and up and coming! Check out Nyetimber - if you can find them -the wines are award-winning!

RT: I’ll write that down! So Maria, where’s a good starting point Do they have any Champagne or sparkling worth checking out ?

MV: They do - I love that they have the Contadi Castaldi Franciacorta Rose on the list, you don’t see this often. The area of Franciacorta in Italy is designated as DOCG the category given to the highest quality Italian wines. When we stayed in Lake Como we went to Franciacorta and had the chance to visit Contadi Castaldi – it is only about 1hr 40 min from Lago di Como. Here they produce sparkling wine in the champagne method. It has the flavor of champagne, all that toasty goodness with a little bit of riper fruit on the nose, and a much better price point! Under $100 for a rose sparkler of this quality is unheard of when it comes to the Champagne region. This is a steal trust me!

RT: Cool This is why I find sommeliers are so helpful!

MV: WE try! Lol!

RT: So let's stick with that theme of something really cool and interesting but approachable in price point.. what can you find us?

Here is a great food wine, the Smith & Sheth "Cru" Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough, NZ a super zippy sauvignon blanc with lots of lime zest, a hint of passion fruit, and a dab of dried herbs. These are older vines about 25 years taking into account of course that we are in new world wine country, this vine age gives the wine more complexity. I’d pair this with the hamachi crudo, that lime aioli is going to compeiment this wine.

RT: I Love the wine and food pairing selections can you give us another?

MV: Sure, after all it is my specialty.

If you are a foie gras fan, order Ramsey’s version and also order, the Schloss Johannisberg Spätlese Rheingau (Schloose Yohannisbourg Schpate Lazor) Germany 2019 has another misspelling, anyway.. foie gras is rich, buttery and intense, and it needs a wine that has a touch of sweet flavor to stand up to it, but also enough acidity to cut through that richness. This wine has just that – acid as the backbone with layers of medium-sweet fruit on the palate, apple, tangerine, peach, and white flowers, but delicate at the same time because of the lower alcohol level.

RT: That is perfection, Foie gras, and a sweet style wine… once you have it you are ruined! In a good way!

RT: So can we pour over the reds and find some special steak wines? I mean it is a steakhouse right?

MV: It sure is, Looking through the reds,

The Gargiulo Vineyards G Major 7 Oakville 2010 $355 is a great special occasion wine…The wine is named after a classic jazz Guitar chord, so music lovers will love this wine. I have been to this beautiful winery in Napa; it is a stone's throw away from screaming eagle. This wine has a little bit of cab franc, merlot, and petite verdot in it as well, but predominantly cabernet sauvignon. It’s such a great small family-owned winery – In fact we just received a case of their chardonnay it is also outstanding.

Here is another wine I would order, The 2016 d’Arenberg Dead Arm McLaren Vale. This full-bodied beauty is going to knock your socks off –maybe I should say mittens off since it’s called the dead arm.. lol! Actually, dead arm refers to a fungal disease that vines can get, but there is nothing funky here, just really great shiraz that has layers of big bold ripe red fruits, pomegranate plums, and also layers of menthol and chocolate, steak worthy for sure.

RT: Anything else we shouldn’t miss?

MV: Yes, one more winner for you to walk away with, the O’Shaughnessy Howell Mountain 2018 $265 I love California mountain fruit! Howell mountain is one of my favorite designated American Viticultural Areas – AVA for short. This wine is still young and mountain fruit wine CAN really age well, but the tannins will soften when paired with steak… that’s the beauty of food and wine pairing, the steak proteins bind with the wine tannins and soften them.. it’s magic basically, in a scientific way! This is for the big wine lover who likes to drink their wines young.

RT: Well thank you Maria, that wraps up our episode on Gordon Ramsey Steak, Las Vegas, all the food and wine pairing tips were super helpful.

Be sure to follow Maria on Instagram @Mariathewineblonde. Thank you everyone for joining us here on CorkRules. Remember the only rule in wine is “drink what you LOVE”.

MV: Have a favorite wine List? Let us review it here. Send us your requests at info@CorkRules.com You can find previous episodes on your favorite podcast platform and on

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