Generally I don’t usually think of wine when I have sushi. I much prefer a nice light crisp clean beer to cut through the wasabi and the vinegared rice. It is so difficult to pair a wine with all the flavors that are going on with sushi. I mean soy sauce, horseradish, ginger, fish, vinegar all together is bound to clash with wine. I know some people reach for a sweeter gewurztraminer or riesling and they are ok, but not great in my humble opinion. I would pair a crisp sparkling wine with sushi over a still wine any day. I am not the only one who thinks this way. There is a wine made especially for sushi and it comes from, of all places, Spain! That’s right. Sushi wine from Spain. What an interesting story this is. This was introduced to America by Freixenet and it is produced in Tierra de Castilla, Spain. This is a creation of winemaker Yoko Sato who spent a year developing the perfect blend to compliment sushi. She chose a blend of grapes that bring together the crisp clean qualities that would be demanded of it. It’s made from 60% airen, 30% macabeo and 10% muscat grapes. It has a lighter alcohol rolling in at around 11%. It is balanced with just a hint of sweetness to bring it off dry and it has a crisp acidity that helps cut through the spice and the oils of the fish. On my palate I found it to be quite enjoyable and yes, it did go well with sushi. It had a nose of citrus, grass and fruit that was hard to distinguish. It was crsip and light in the mouth with flavors of grapefruit and gooseberry. The muscat provided a nice lingering fruity finish. It was refreshing and clean, off dry but definitely not sweet. It actually paired very well with sushi as it was designed to do. All in all I would say if I had to pair a still wine with sushi I wouldn’t think twice about reaching for a bottle of Oroya. I still prefer beer though.
The grape for sushi
French Whites – Hit or Miss
This past weekend I opened up a couple bottles of French white wine. I thought they would pair well with a dinner I was making and I was right. While it’s true that I much prefer red wines to white I have been trying to expand my palate to include interesting and unusual wines. I am getting tired of the usual California white wines. Never been a CA chardonnay drinker. I enjoy New Zealand sauvignon blanc now and then, but even that is getting old now. I want to find more refined, more complex, less sweet and less acidic whites to go with food.
I love Alsatian rieslings. Mostly for the fact that they pack unbelievably complex flavor in a nice dry white wine. I much prefer this style to sweeter style whites. The best one I can find locally is produced by Arthur Metz and comes under the label of Cuvée Anne-Laure. I have had previous vintages and found them full of interesting flowers and fruit. This was the first 2006 that I have tried. It was certainly different than previous vintages in that the floral notes were less apparent (though there) and honey predominated on the nose and on the palate. I could detect aromas of melons and, believe it or not, juicyfruit gum along with the honey. It wasn’t sweet at all which I liked very much. I served this with some ham wrapped melon balls and it paired very nicely. I would say I was a little disappointed in the way the honey overpowered and I think I prefer the 2005 over the 2006. Never the less it is a solid effort from Asace.
Ah, Chateauneuf du Pape! I adore Rhone wines. I had a bottle of the 2003 Eric Texier Chateauneuf du Pape blanc about a year ago and I have very fond memories of it. A gorgeous dry fruity Rhone white that was extremely food friendly. When I made a chicken and cheese soufflé on Sunday this is the wine I had in mind. Unfortunately my expectations fell short when I found the bottle was flawed. I had a feeling when I pulled the cork that it would not be ideal. The cork was brittle and you could tell that the wine had seeped all the way to the end. Not a good sign. The bottle wasn’t ruined but it was certainly off. It had a slightly floral nose with eucalyptus aromas. I could also smell ethyl acetate indicating that there was something amiss. The wine did have some very nice flavors of pears and dried apricots that were unfortunately covered up by a bitter off taste that I would compare to a saccharin aftertaste. So, this one was a miss. I know this is usually a solid solid white wine and will definitely seek it out again.
Drinking with Gary
If you haven’t seen Gary Vaynerchuk on his internet wine tv show you are missing out on an experience. He’s funny, entertaining, and most importantly he knows his wine. He has been talking about the ’05 Bordeaux vintage for a while now and he offered a secret xmas pack of four wines to taste along at home on Christmas eve. I jumped at the pack as I need to learn more about French wines. It was great to taste these and compare my experience with Gary as he tasted them on the show. Here’s my stream of consciousness as I was tasting them.
Chateau de Callac 2006 Blanc (Graves) ($15.99)
Hints of lemons and bananas on the nose mixed with some grass. A bit of nail polish remover that dissipated after a while. Creamy smooth on the palate. A refined wine. Long finish. Delicious flavors of buttery lemon and pineapple. The nicely balanced acidity is not too sharp but definitely can stand up to food. This is fantastic and is one of the most interesting white wines I’ve had in a very long time.
Chateau de Lavagnac 2005 ($8.99)
Young, fresh fruity raspberry and cherry nose. Bright purple color. Fresh fruit right up front of cranberries and raspberries. Medium bodied. Nice tannins that ends with wood on the back palate. Fruit up front then wood on the end. Not bad for $9. Hint of earthiness on the roof of my mouth in the mid palate. I wish the fruit lingered a bit longer before the wood took over, but it is a very nice complex wine for the price.
Chateau Moulin de Lavaud Pomerol 2005 ($18.99)
Bright red color, not too deep. Cherries meet strawberries on the nose. Soft tannins, elegant, medium bodied, vegetable and sour cherries. Some wood and flowers on the end. Finishes with a spicy wood flavor.
Chateau de Callac 2005 ($15.99)
Dark purple red color. BIG nose of red plums, strawberry, red raspberries and licorice. Cherries, roses, red fruits, strawberries, strong tannins, soft acid. Medium bodied. Ends with tannic wood.