Wine with sushi

[amshih]

This one has me stumped....any suggestions? If you could post your reasoning behind any wine suggestions, that would be great (I like reading the analysis more than the actual recommendations!). Thank you!

[Jerry D Mead]

My personal preference is Asahi or Suntory!

Aside from that, dry and crisp is the word...Sancerre, Muscadet, "cat pee" S.B. from NZ, really dry Sauvignon Blanc from California.

NOT Chardonnay with any noticeable amount of oak and threshhold sweet versions like K-J Vintners is dreadful.

Interestingly, dry or nearly dry Rieslings with really crisp acidity can work too.

But I still usually drink beer.

JDM

[RickBin389]

Wine is a tough one.... rieslings have worked best for me in the past (depends on the wasabi level, if you turn up the heat, stick with beer).... one suggestion for you...draft ski, they are hot right now & are always consumed cold (as is quality sake). Jason??? you there????maybe you can shed light on how to procure draft saki's.

[Jason]

Roger that. I am a firm believer in keeping things simple. Putting Western wines with Eastern foods is never an easy task, because it was not meant to be. To reverse it, would you put sake with rack of lamb?
Certainly there are guys like Randy Cap who do the East/West thing for a living, but this is fusion cuisine, and sushi is a whole other ballgame.
You pay big bucks for sushi for one thing - purity (and cleanliness) of flavor. This is the ultimate "less is more" food.
If someone had to put wine with, it I'd say something very bland (Muscadet, Ugni Blanc) buts lets face it, millions of Japanese can't be wrong.
Sake and beer work so well because both are light and clean and do nothing more than cleanse the oils from your pallete, allowing you to start fresh.
By the way, not all beers work. The Japanese beers are best at this as well. Don't waste your sushi by drinking Sam Adams Ale, it will kill any delicacy in the fish.
Sake is a beast unto its own, but because it is brewed, and grain based, it would be heresy on this board. Suffice it to say that the draft sakes (served cold) are unpasteurised and are very good. Good stuff is always cold. They heat the cheap stuff to mask problems. I have seen the high end stuff usually served room temp.
Hakusan makes a little 250 ml bottle of draft sake called "Mild" and even comes to the table in little ice buckets. This is a Japanese owned property in Napa that even grows their own rice. Good stuff, I know several sushi chefs who drink it regularly.

[Bucko]

Ah, you rascals! Viognier is THE wine for sushi, Viognier. !@#$%^& - take the boyz out of the country, put shoes on them........ ;-)

Bucko

[Jerry D Mead]

Viognier?! Not with my sushi!!! Way too much flavor and especially when you get into the ones with the peach-skin qualities.

Yuk!

Of course, I have to confess...I don't drink Viognier with anything. Dumb grape. I like it about as much as Symphony.

(I hasten to add that when judging or reviewing I think I can be fair to them - I can give 'em medals and 90+ when they're good examples of what they are (but then I do the same for White Zin) - I just can't think of any menu item that cries out to me to order Viognier. Always something else I 'd rather have.)

Curmy

[Bucko]

Come in out of that desert sun, son. Ask any Rhone producer what goes best with Condrieu and you will get sushi as the most frequent reply. Viognier can be a very delicate, floral wine - it works well with sushi.

Bucko

[Randy Caparoso]

Fusion, schmusion, Jason. I eat tons of the stuff (as do all islanders), and I can say that the best wines (aside from sake, chilled or warm) in descending order are:

1. Extra Dry (Moet White Star) of creamy smooth Brut (Deutz, Iron Horse, et al.) Champagnes. Something about the yeasty, lively sparkle with the subtle vinegars in the rice, the sweet/heat spice of ginger, and the slap of wasabi with... magic!

2. Off-dry German Rieslings (preferably Kabinetts and halbtrockens). As with Champagne, the natural acidity and sugars balance the vinegars and sweetness of the mirins, and the relative lightness of these wines underline the lightness of the foods.

3. Minerally, lighter style Loire River Sauvignon Blancs (especially Sancerre, Quincy and Cheverny). Again, acidity is the key; and the flinty qualities of the grape usually underscore the saline qualities of the fish (especially the salmon caviar and shrimp). Heavier style California Sauvignon Blancs do not work so well; but less extravagant New Zealand styles (such as Giesen and Villa Maria) work well in a pinch.

4. With salmon, ahi tuna, and avocado-stuffed California rolls, fairly well chilled Beaujolais is very nice -- especially Nouveau, and lighter grand crus (such as Fleurie and Julienas). What most people tend to underestimate about good French Gamay Noir is that it usually has lively, palate freshening acidity on top of almost sweet fruitiness and (of course) minimal tannin -- all of which work well with fleshy fish and new fangled forms of "California" sushi.

No big mystery! All of the above are tried-and-true!

[amshih]

Thanks everyone for the input! I have lots of experimentation to look forward too.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've always thought that it was "improper" to drink sake *with* sushi because both are made with rice and would therefore be redundant. The few times I've gone out for sushi, we drank sake beforehand and afterward, but not during.

[Randy Caparoso]

That's a tough one. I don't know the proprieties of sake-with-sushi. But I'm sure cold sake doesn't count with the old rules, since it's a fairly recent phenomenon -- and perfectly delicious with sake. How can that be wrong?

Oh, and Bucko: Unfortunately I'd have to side with Curmudgeon on the Viognier issue. I've yet to taste a delicate, low key Viognier -- in fact, searing alcohol levels and soaring perfumes are par for the course -- which would make them somewhat intrusive with lightly delicate sushi.

By the way, Curmudgeon: Made a very pleasant discovery on a pass through Paso Robles last week -- the '97 Treana "Mer Soleil Vineyard" Marsanne/Viognier. They list the Marsanne first, but the Viognier is actually 60% of the blend. But guess what? The Viognier is brought totally in control by the Marsanne in this blend. So instead of that heated, drugstore perfumey character of dominant Viognier, you get a juicy, luscious, honeyed wine with real flesh and crispness (and Viognier is rarely "crisp"), a tropical fruit and apricot pit center, and creamy, floral nuances in the nose. Pricey (about $22 retail), but a surprisingly delicious winemaking feat. But don't get me wrong -- it's not a sushi wine. But with miso marinated wood grilled salmon with, say, wasabi mashed potatoes... yum. Too bad Nobu Matsuhisa doesn't do takeout!