From Michael Keenan’s Table: Wagyu New York Strip & the 2021 Mernet Reserve
What wine goes with a Wagyu New York strip? The 2021 Mernet Reserve — Keenan’s proprietary blend of 50% Mailbox Vineyard Merlot and 50% Big K Cabernet Sauvignon. The Merlot brings a generosity the strip responds to and the Cabernet holds the structure, so the pair matches the fat of full-blood Wagyu without competing with it.
Buy the farm and the farmer first. Then the cut and the bottle second.
Wine with food
The cut I chose, the wine I made
I made this wine to be opened at a table worth sitting at. Here is what I cook when I open it.
When I want to open a bottle of Mernet Reserve at my own table, this is the cut I reach for. The New York strip comes from the short loin, the least-worked section of the animal, sitting directly behind the ribs. That is why it carries the marbling it does: the muscle does almost nothing, so the fat distributes evenly through it. It is one of the most honest cuts on the animal.
People chase the tenderloin. I understand the instinct — it is tender, it is famous. But tenderness without fat is tenderness without flavor. The strip gives you both. The filet gives you one of those things.
I source from Dr. Sheila Patinkin at Vermont Wagyu's Spring-Rock Farm in Springfield. Full-blood Wagyu, not crossbred and not Wagyu-influenced. Her animals carry an oleic-acid dominant fat profile, the same monounsaturated fatty acid as extra virgin olive oil. When I tasted this pairing for the first time I understood immediately why it works: the richness of the beef and the structure of the Mernet Reserve are built for each other. This steak does not need a sauce. It needs heat, a good pan and patience.
The 2021 Mernet Reserve
The Mernet Reserve is our proprietary blend — 50% Merlot from our Mailbox Vineyard and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon Clone 7 from the Big K Vineyard, both estate fruit from Spring Mountain. It is the wine I am most proud of.
The 2021 is seamless, with high-toned sweet fruit up front and real depth underneath. James Suckling gave it **94 points** in September 2024 and called it best from 2029, and I think he is right. But it drinks beautifully now against a cut like this. The tannins stand up to the fat in the Wagyu without overwhelming the meat.
14.3% alcohol, acidity 0.63 g/100ml, pH 3.56, bottled 29 June 2023. **500 cases produced.**
Why I chose this pairing
I could have recommended the straight Cabernet Sauvignon; it works with this steak. But the Mernet Reserve is what I opened the night I first cooked this, and it is what I keep coming back to. The Merlot from the Mailbox Vineyard brings a generosity the strip responds to. The Cabernet holds the structure. Together they match the fat and the texture of the Wagyu without competing with it. This is what the Mernet Reserve was made for.
This is the bottle for the dinner where you want the table to slow down, the conversation to deepen, and the food to feel like it came from somewhere real.
What you need
One Vermont Wagyu New York strip, 14 to 18 ounces preferred. Kosher salt for the dry brine, generously and on all surfaces. Cracked black pepper, applied after the brine and before the oven. A teaspoon of beef tallow for the sear. A tablespoon of good butter as an optional finish.
A cast iron skillet is preferred; it retains heat for a better sear. A leave-in temperature probe is strongly recommended for Wagyu — precision protects the investment. You will also want an oven-safe wire rack over a sheet pan for airflow, tongs, and foil for the rest.
How I cook it
**1. Dry brine.** Salt every surface generously with kosher salt. Rack it uncovered in the refrigerator overnight, two hours at the absolute minimum. The salt draws moisture out and then pulls it back in; you are seasoning the meat from the inside. Do not skip this step.
**2. Temper.** Take the steak out ninety minutes before you cook it. A cold center cooks unevenly — the outside is done before the inside gets there. I leave mine on the counter, uncovered. The air helps.
**3. Decant the wine.** Before the steak goes into the oven, open the Mernet Reserve and decant it. This is the moment. By the time you have seared and rested the steak the wine will be exactly where it needs to be. It pays dividends.
**4. Low and slow.** A 225°F oven. Crack black pepper on both sides, set the steak on a rack over a sheet pan — airflow matters — insert the probe into the thickest part and walk away. You are looking for 105°F internal, thirty to forty-five minutes depending on thickness. Patience is the technique.
**5. Rest.** Pull it and tent loosely with foil for fifteen minutes minimum. Carry-over will bring you to around 110°F. The rest is not downtime; it is when the juices settle back into the meat. Cut too soon and they end up on your board rather than your plate.
**6. Sear.** Cast iron, high heat, until it smokes. A teaspoon of beef tallow. Sixty to ninety seconds per side, and do not touch it. The inside is done — you are only building the crust now. Run the edge along the fat cap too. That cap deserves the heat.
**7. Finish and serve.** Off the heat, a tablespoon of good butter if you want it, melting over the steak for two minutes. Slice against the grain. This steak does not need anything else. Open the Mernet Reserve. Pour it. Sit down.
On temperature: I never serve full-blood Wagyu rare. The fat needs heat to render. Target 115 to 125°F finished, medium-rare to medium.
You will be tempted to make a sauce. Do not. It is unnecessary. This cut is that delicious.
Where it all comes from
**The beef.** I source from Dr. Sheila Patinkin at Spring-Rock Farm in Springfield, Vermont — full-blood Wagyu, not crossbred and not influenced. When I say buy the farm and the farmer first, this is what I mean. Her animals carry an oleic-acid dominant fat profile, the same monounsaturated fat as olive oil. It renders differently, eats differently and pairs differently.
**My winery.** Reilly and I farm our estate vineyards at 1,700 feet on Spring Mountain. The Mailbox Vineyard Merlot has a structure at this elevation I have never found elsewhere, and the Mernet Reserve still surprises me. The 2021 is best from 2029, but I have had it with this steak and I would not wait.
The 2021 Mernet Reserve is also available in magnum, and we keep an extensive library of past vintages available directly from the winery — a rare chance to follow this wine across more than two decades. Call us on (707) 963-9177.
On buying: I built this wine to age, so buy accordingly. Six bottles is the minimum. Twelve is better. Twenty-four is for the person who understands that time is the last ingredient.
Nutrition, per six ounces of cooked strip
Around 420 calories; 44g protein (42% of calories) and 27g total fat (58%), of which 11g saturated and 13g monounsaturated. No carbohydrate. Wagyu's fat profile is oleic-acid dominant — the same fatty acid as olive oil.
Notable micronutrients include B12 around 3.2mcg (133% DV), niacin around 12mg (75%), zinc around 8mg (73%), vitamin B6 around 0.9mg (53%), selenium around 28mcg (51%), phosphorus around 340mg (27%) and heme iron around 3.5mg (19%).
Values are estimates, and Wagyu marbling increases caloric density against commodity beef.
A note on sourcing
Full-blood Wagyu is among the most nutrient-dense proteins available — high in protein, with superior fat quality and rich in B vitamins, zinc and heme iron. I have spent my career arguing that where something comes from matters. That is as true of beef as it is of grapes.
Cheers,
Michael C. Keenan, President, Keenan Winery
Recipe developed in collaboration with Van Potts, King Street Kitchen.
