Wine and sushi

[JimHow]

Someone asked me for some recommended wine pairings with sushi.

Any suggestions?

[sdr]

Well of couse, it depends to a certan extent on the sushi - what fish, how much vinager, how much wasabli (kills all wine and many people too).

That said, my immediate impulse is to recommend champagne.

Second choice = white Bordeaux

I don't like saki, which I suppose would be the obvious choice.

I've never tried any red wine with sushi. Somehow, the very idea does not seem appealing.

I'm curious to see what others think.

~stuart

[Otto Nieminen]

My favourite style of wine when easy on the wasabi, is a lighter rosé. I don't think the powerful, sweetly fruity style works, but a light, strongly mineral, high acid one like Burgaud's Beaujolais Rosé has been versatile with a wide variety of Sushi. I tend to prefer a more neutral fizz than Champagne: a good brut nature Cava, for example, or some Proseccos (I enjoyed Bisol's very much with an assortment of Sushi I made recently).

[DavidG]

Second the Champagne and Prosecca recommendations.

I also like German or Alsatian whites - particularly Rieslings with some good acidity to cut the heat of the wasabi.

I've never tried it, but Stuart's suggestion of white Bordeaux would probably also go well.

Or beer, but I hate to waste an opportunity to try a wine/food pairing.

[Houndsong]

Had sushi and champagne the other night. I prefer beer but champagne was fine.

[Nicklasss]

For my part, I'm a fan of ginger and wasabi. So I'll always want an acidic fresh unoaked wine. Stiff refreshing Sauvignon or South African Chenin Blanc.

Come to my mind, the cheap Trio Sauvignon Blanc from Concha Y Toro in Chile. Crisp as hell.

Nic

[Chasse-Spleen]

I agree with all the suggestions above but would also add a Bourgogne Blanc or Cali Chard with a bit of spicyness would go quite well, IMO. But heaping tankards of Japanese beer is also a good option. Champagne sounds great but I think it could steal the show.
-Chasse

[William P]

I for one like Rieslings.

[Tom In DC]

From the "Off the Wall But Still Pretty Good" file, we attended a dinner that Josh Raynolds' (now an associate of Steve Tanzer) put together at Sushi Ko in DC that featured mature white and red Burgundies! I don't remember many details, other than that the dinner was held around 1990 and featured a bunch of white and red Burgs from '69 and '71. I don't know how much the menu was tweaked away from the usual sushi bar fare, but the wines showed spectacularly well. I also recall that night as my first exposure to "crispy heads" (in the food sense, not college in the 70's!)

That said, we tend towards dry Alsatian whites, ranging from Riesling to Gewurztraminer based on how spicy the food is, and have found Alsatian sparklers to also work well.

Tom

[stefan]

Jim, we have this problem every Xmas eve. I think everyone in our family agrees that Champagne is the best match.

stefan

[FrankD]

I'm probably in the Champagne camp.

But I would say that saying "I don't like Saké" is a lot like saying "I don't like wine"

There is a lot of variability out there, and some people like the milky white Nigori style while others like the rather sweet Junmai Ginjo. Some of the nicer Sakés have some really interesting complexity to the flavor. I would suggest keeping an open mind and trying a few examples of the "better" stuff.

For non-special occasions I like the "black and gold" from Gekkeikan. Yes, some people would say Gekkeikan is Japanese for "Yellowtail" but you warm this stuff up and it is a very satisfying way to wash down your sushi.

Frank

[Claret]

I gorged on Sushi a couple of weeks ago at the new and hip all you can eat in town. Reno must be the all you can eat Sushi capital of the USA as seemingly every Sushi restaurant here offers it. Being landlocked is a big issue, and some of the fish can be defrosted or not immaculately fresh when it is out of the ocean for more than a few days. Sushi is one of my best excuses to open a good Champer, this time it was a stunning 1996 Duval Leroy Blanc de Blanc, and Steve brought an excellent Alsatian styled Austrian Riesling from Nigl.

I would imagine that a Chablis world be nice as well. Volnay could be interesting with tuna and salmon.

As for Sake, there are many styles and I seem to prefer the milky white Nigori style. If you are not sure of what Sake to order off of a list, I recommend asking for a cold Sake. It is much more pleasant than the commercial Toyota fuel that needs to be heated up to be palatable.

[Chasse-Spleen]

I also think a good rose could be good. I'm just going from my one experience eating at NoodleTown in Chinatown. We didn't have sushi but basic Chinese fare, pork, Singapore Chow Mai Fun, etc. and We had a Pernot Bourgogne Blanc and this excellent rose from California. They went perfectly, and I had thought that there were few good options for Chinese or Asian food. Shows how much I knew. In any event, this thread is making me hungry.

[dstgolf]

I agree with everything said above. I'm not a fan of champagne on it's own to acompany a meal/course. If we start with champagne and have some left I'll work it in to a meal but won't plan a meal around it and certainly not sushi.

Our go to sushi grape is Albarino from Spain. This is one of my favourites. Clean crisp refreshing with nice fruit. Some producers better than others but haven't had a bad one yet.Great with sushi,Indian,Chinese.

Dry Vouvray (Chenin blanc) from the Loire is also one that we'll go to. Reisling and Gewertz are traditional but my wife is not fond of either. If Danielle's not happy then no one is happy!!

[DavidG]

Interesting thought, Danny. Gonna have to try a Vouvray or Savennieres next time...

[AlainB.]

The worldwide Sushi hype in the last 10 years is causing great damage to the ocean. Since 1995, the volume taken out of the sea for kind of fishes commonly used for the preparation of Sushi is up by.. 80% ! This rate is simply unsustainable on the long term. Another fact is that the average size of the tunas fished today is down by 30% over 2000. This means that the tunas are fished much younger than only a few years ago. According to specialists, this is a very serious threat on the specie's reproduction issue.
Again another example from an endless list of items about human stupidity and propensity of causing irreversible damage to the nature! Sometimes I just feel hopeless for our children's future..

Personally, I have now totally banned Sushi from my eating habits.

[SteveH]

Sushi is a favorite for me, and I always take it with sake. The cheapest sake is too rough and petroleum-flavored, so I buy the $15.00 bottle at the NH stores. I pour a glassful and heat it up in the microwave. I don't know why I like it hot, but in Japan I think it's usually served at room temp. Works for me.

[SteveH]

Alain, I can appreciate your concern about human demand impacting fish populations. I have been an avid catch and release sport angler for my whole life. We also eat fish three or four times a week. Tuna reproduce and sustain very successfully all around the world in all varieties. They are near the top of the predatory aquatic food chain. I wonder what data source has presented the gloomy outlook you have alluded to?

[AlainB.]

Steve,

It is widely accepted that i.e. bluefin tuna have been severely overfished, with some stocks at risk of collapse.

I went through an article published last week by Reuters which confirms what I already know for a couple of years. It clearly corroborates the critical situation of the Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna.

http://www.reuters.com/article/environm ... 0320090414

Alain