Really hard to think of something conventional that will work with the sugar, thinking of Rose Champagne or a Spatlese
The Marinade shouldn’t be so sweet as to required bubbly or Riesling. Anything with nice acidity would work fine
First that comes to mind is a Nigori Sake. I’ve enjoyed that many times over wine or craft beer.
How about amarone?
Sake, IPA, witbier, Grenache.
Renardat-Fâche Vin du Bugey-Cerdon. A bottle of the 2013 tonight was still holding strong, crisp strawberry fruit, the nice balance between the off-dry sweetness and acidity made it a great pairing for my family’s tradition of Chinese take-out for Christmas dinner, and it is showing a little more of the poulsard funk than it did in the past. Festive holiday joy in a glass.
+1
I think the perfect match would be one of the Briceland zins. Spicy, brambly fruit with a big dose of acid. Pretty unique wines IME, and they’d be great here.
Do as Koreans do:
Soju
So-mek (soju shot in a beer)
Beer (typically lager)
Think you’re on right path Mark…with Rose Champagne. My other choice would be Dolcetto, need acid to cut thru sweet, not a complement to sweet.
For red, I normally choose Italian with Korean food. Sangiovese works well. Champagne is no brainer, of course.
How about a fresh Frappato served a little below cellar temp.
I’m inclined to go with the reds here. I’ve successfully had Kalbi with young Tempranillo (Rioja or Ribera del Duero), cru Beaujolais and domestic, but on the lighter side, Pinot Noir.
Lambrusco
Zinfandel would work great - plenty of fruit and acid. Really, just about any red wine with good fruit and acid would work.
The idea that you shouldn’t pair wine with that dish is absurd.
Rioja or Ribera.
That’s a really nice call. They aren’t too big or fruit forward and would pair nicely with the marinade.
I think the Rose Champagne is also a nice call, assuming OP is having a traditional Korean meal. There are a lot of sides (banchan) with a lot of different flavors, so having something subtle and palate cleansing would be a plus. OTOH, I think a Spatlese would be a rather poor pairing as it will only accentuate the sweetness of the marinade. It might go better with spicier Korean dishes, such as duk boki or bibim naengmyeon.
I’ve had good luck with dry or drier Lambrusco and Korean food too. It’s a bit out there but somehow works. That said, it’s hard to argue with beer and soju as well.
Another vote for the Bugey-Cerdon as an out of the box pairing… I like the Patrick Bottex. A case buy for me because it appeals to both geeks and casual wine drinkers.
Did someone say they shouldn’t pair wine with it in this thread? I may have missed it and if so I agree thats absurd. I will say its not the best paring for me. There is a something about soju that has a way of cleaning the palate and somehow makes the beef more beefy if that makes sense. Sometimes my in laws request wine with Kalbi and I have had mild success with lighter fruity wines like cru bojo, Barbera and Dolcetto. Soju is my clear favorite pairing and have had some good sucess with really dry sake as well.
Not directed at you, but in general the recommendations for the soju pairing
That’s like saying Vodka pairs well with KBBQ. No one ever sips Soju and is like “oh yes this would pair marvelously with XXXXX”. You drink that stuff in a shot glass and as cold and as quickly as possible. It’s a little sweet, a little vicious and tastes like mild rubbing alcohol. Koreans drink soju and watered beer, so I’m not sure looking toward what they “pair” with Korean BBQ should be the best indicator of what really goes best with KBBQ. It’s just what they’ve been drinking since the 1400s. None of us are drinking traditional rice milled artisan Soju. It’s all barley/potato/sweet potato ala vodka thanks for the prior Japanese ban.