Sushi and wine
Sushi is the current favorite of the world, the fresh delicate flavors opening up into the taste buds and the gluten rich nature of the sushi rice mingling with the more pungent and strong wasabi sauce. The pairing of this food with wine is always a tricky thing because the wasabi sauce tastes like horseradish and is pungent to taste and is an integral part of the flavor of sushi.
The wine to go with sushi has to be light enough not to overpower the taste of the delicate sushi but also can withstand the onslaught of pungent wasabi on the tongue. The best to go with sushi is sake also called as rice wine. Rice wine is basically like beer, made by the fermentation of rice starch into sugar, and then subsequently into alcohol. Sake is slightly sweet to taste and will be the perfect accompaniment to the delicate sushi and its various flavors, but a wine lover will want his own wine. The best to go with sushi are fresh white wines without oak. They will provide the powerful fruity taste and are clean and fresh so will compliment the fresh taste of the sushi wonderfully.
Some are as illustrated:
Arniston Bay Chenin/Chardonnay 1998
crisp and dry, with an alcohol content of 13.5% this is a bold and upfront wine. Consisting of a bouquet of tropical fruit, peach and mandarin the acidity pushes the fruit to the tune of lime and grapefruit.
Domaine des Fontanelles Sauvignon Blanc 1999:
Lemon and pear drops are the images which come to mind when the nose is put to this bottle also makes a getaway into grass and the time when you used to pick gooseberries as a kid. The citrus balances and the acidity is just right.
Grain Sauvage Jurançon Sec 1998
The region of Jurancon in France has provided some of the excellent sweet and dry wines of the world, this lovely beauty has a honeyed aroma of pear in straw and lots of nuances achieved by herbs, tangy but also sweet this wine will accompany the delicateness of sushi to its hilt and to the best of its ability with its tangy and dry acidity and also of an accompanying sweetness.
Filed under: Wine & Food, Beginners Guide
