What to drink with sushi: How about pinot noir?

WINE TALK
21

I opened this thread to merrily agree that I love Pinot with sushi, especially aged OR Pinots with tuna.
But- I’ve been completely sidetracked by the notion of a sushi-making wife! Hoping my wife never reads this, but that would be fantastic!

22

Ha ha. Wife also from Japan! LOL

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23

I suspect I’m preaching to the choir but really old Burgundy, even those that are past peak, seem to be a good fit. The umami notes mesh and a tired Pinot from some distant date comes alive. Or such is my experience.
Best, jim

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24

My wife and I make sushi pretty frequently. The trick is obviously finding a good fish source, having a razor sharp knife (yanagiba ideal, but a Mac chefs knife works), and calibrating your rice cooker well, but it’s not super difficult. Much cheaper vs a restaurant and better quality than most places. Since my 3 year old loves sushi we probably eat about weekly.

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25

Sake with sushi is an interesting phenomenon.
Worldwide, a lot of people consider it traditional and the go-to choice.
In Japan I know a number of chefs and foodies who say that not only is it NOT a traditional accompaniment, but that it doesn’t work well. Have had several sushi chefs confide that they actively dislike when their customers order sake with sushi.

Personally I don’t mind sake with sushi, but I think sake really comes into its own in other food pairings.

26

The criticism is that you don’t do rice (beverage) with rice (food). With sashimi, it’s a different story, and of course it depends on the style of sake, since there’s no more one “sake” style than there is one wine profile. Yamahai gingo genshu is a totally different beast than junmai daiginjo, and the food pairings change accordingly.

27

I am with Jim - an earthy, savory Burgundy is my favorite. I have tried the sake match, and it’s not anything to write home about. That said, I have never tried sake with a sashimi dinner.

28

To reiterate, saying “I have tried the sake match” is like saying “I have tried the wine match.” What wine? What sake? I’m not arguing that sake is the best sushi pairing, just that we in the US tend to make sake a single general beverage without understanding the variation that we take for granted in wine.

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29

I was not interested enough to explore further. I really could give two shits about sake. Ok?

30

Absolutely. No reason to drink what you don’t like. But you’ve made a statement that displays what is, to my mind, a lack of real understanding.

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31

Curious to hear what sakes you would recommend if one wanted to pair with sushi, if any.

32

Thanks, now on to do radar. Am OK with Burgundy and sushi. But haven’t tried aged ones with sushi (note: I’m more of a sashimi guy with fresh-cooked brown rice on the side).

33

As many have said, it depends, but fino sherry is often a good match.

34

Agree on sashimi.

35

I can’t speak for Sarah, but I am personally a fan of pairing the funky end of the spectrum (i.e. kimoto or yamahai), as opposed to the clean end (i.e. junmai daiginjo), with sushi. I appreciate the contrast that you get from the higher acidity and more ‘natural’ flavors. It is also increasingly vogue to have aged sake, and those will likewise show more funk than fresh young sake

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36

If I’m doing sushi and sake it’s junmai daigingo all the way and not the Caymus of sake at that.

37

Thanks. Didn’t even know about kimoto and yamahai sakes, though admittedly, my sake knowledge is extremely limited.

I’ll have to search for those to try them at some point. Any producers I should be on the lookout for?

38

As my love for Albariño has grown, so has my desire to have it with sushi. Some Leirana or Do Ferreiro (green label) with Sushi works amazing. It’s not 03 CdP from mag, but what else is?

39

It would be interesting if you could use the Men In Black memory eraser wand on some wine geeks and have them try many of these international foods with both wines and the non-wine conventional accompaniments, and see what actually goes the best.

In other words, untethered from the conventions about how you’re “supposed” to have sake with sushi, beer with Mexican and Korean food and tea with dim sum, and without worrying that it looks weird to open wine at those kinds of restaurants, what would actually go well with what?

I get that many pairings evolved together because they are good ones (e.g. the local white wines with the local seafood in Italian coastal towns), but I don’t think that is especially true in places that didn’t historically have wine like Mexico and East Asia. They didn’t evolve without wine being a customary pairing because wine was a bad pairing, they just didn’t have wine or much wine there through most of history. And if you could get over the sense that you’re not supposed to have wine with some of these kinds of food, you might discover that the right kinds of wines go perfectly well, and sometimes better than that. And not just Champagne and riesling.

40

This one stood out as one of my favorites from pre-COVID times, poured by Paul Willenberg (fellow Berserker and, in full disclosure, ITB as an importer, though no affiliation with Astor afaik - I just found this info page on Google): Moriki Brewery, Tae no Hana "Sublime Beauty" Arabashiri Kimoto Muroka Nama Junmai Genshu Sake | Astor Wines & Spirits

You might also consider Kubota Manju from Asahi Shuzo, which is relatively easy to find and occupies an interesting halfway house between the two poles. Half of it is fermented with lab cultures, the other half is kimoto, and the result has a pleasing subtle complexity but won’t put off anyone who wants a more “standard” tasting sake

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